R. Majka

Perspectives of a mid-rapidity dimuon program at the RHIC: a novel and compact muon telescope detector

Perspectives of a mid-rapidity dimuon program at the RHIC: a novel and compact muon telescope detector L Ruan 1 , G Lin 2 , Z Xu 1 , K Asselta 1 , H F Chen 3 , W Christie 1 , H J Crawford 4 , J Engelage 4 , G Eppley 5 , T J Hallman 1 , C Li 3 , J Liu 5 , W J Llope 5 , R Majka 2 , T Nussbaum 5 , J Scheblein 1 , M Shao 3 , R Soja 1 , Y Sun 3 , Z Tang 3 , X Wang 6 and Y Wang 6 July 17, 2009 This work was supported by the Director, Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

Measurement of pion enhancement at low transverse momentum and of the Δ resonance abundance in Si-nucleus collisions at AGS energy

Abstract We present measurements of pion transverse momentum ( p t ) spectra in central Si-nucleus collisions in the rapidity range 2.0 y p t down to and including p t = 0. The data exhibit an enhanced pion yield at low p t compared to what is expected for a purely thermal spectral shape. This enhancement is used to determine the Δ resonance abundance at freeze-out. The results are consistent with a direct measurement of the Δ resonance yield by reconstruction of proton-pion pairs and imply a temperature of the system at freeze-out close to 140 MeV.We present measurements of the pion transverse momentum (p_t) spectra in central Si-nucleus collisions in the rapidity range 2.0<y<5.0 for p_t down to and including p_t=0. The data exhibit an enhanced pion yield at low p_t compared to what is expected for a purely thermal spectral shape. This enhancement is used to determine the Delta-resonance abundance at freeze-out. The results are consistent with a direct measurement of the Delta-resonance yield by reconstruction of proton-pion pairs and imply a temperature of the system at freeze-out close to 140 MeV.

Identification of high p⊥ particles with the STAR-RICH detector

Abstract The STAR-RICH detector extends the particle identification capabilities of the STAR experiment for charged hadrons at mid-rapidity. This detector represents the first use of a proximity-focusing CsI-based RICH detector in a collider experiment. It provides identification of pions and kaons up to 3 GeV /c and protons up to 5 GeV /c . The characteristics and performance of the device in the inaugural RHIC run are described.

Search for strange quark matter in high-energy heavy-ion collisions

Abstract We have initiated a search for strange quark matter in the products of 14.6 GeV/ c per nucleon 28 Si collisions with nuclei, utilizing the apparatus of E-814 at Brookhaven National Laboratorys AGS. We report the first results of this search, which is sensitive to particles with charge-to-mass ratios between 0.1 and 0.3 (GeV/ c 2 ) −1 that are produced within approximately ±0.5 units of the center of mass rapidity.

A Study of Gain Stability and Charging Effects in GEM Foils

A study has been carried out to investigate the gain stability and charging effects in Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs). It was found that the gain of a GEM typically rises after the initial application of high voltage across the foil, but the degree and rate of rise can depend on a variety of different factors. These factors include the geometry of the foil (inner and outer hole diameter), the rate of ionizing radiation applied to the foil, the amount of water content of the operating gas, and possibly various other factors related to the manufacturing process. We have studied GEMs produced by several different manufacturers and compared their gain behavior as a function of time, after applying and removing the high voltage, gain as a function of rate, and the degree of initial charge up as a function of water content in the gas. While GEMs from all manufacturers exhibited an initial charge up to some degree, there was a large variation in this effect between different foils. The ratio of inner to outer hole diameter and the amount of water content in the gas seem to be two principle factors affecting the degree and rate of the initial charge up effect observed in certain foils.

Search for charged strange quark matter produced in 11.5A GeV/c Au+Pb collisions

We present results of a search for strange quark matter (strangelets) in 11.5 A GeV/c Au+Pb collisions from the 1994 and 1995 runs of experiment E864 at Brookhavens AGS. We observe no strangelet candidates and set a 90% confidence level upper limit of approximately 3x10**-8 per 10% central interaction for the production of |Z|=1 and |Z|=2 strangelets over a large mass range and with metastable lifetimes of about 50 ns or more. These results place constraints primarily on quark-gluon plasma based production models for strangelets.

System size and energy dependence of near side dihadron correlations

Two-particle azimuthal (Delta phi) and pseudorapidity (Delta eta) correlations using a trigger particle with large transverse momentum (p(T)) in d+Au, Cu+Cu, and Au+Au collisions at root s(NN) = 62.4 GeV and 200 GeV from the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider are presented. The near-side correlation is separated into a jet-like component, narrow in both Delta phi and Delta eta, and the ridge, narrow in Delta phi but broad in Delta eta. Both components are studied as a function of collision centrality, and the jet-like correlation is studied as a function of the trigger and associated p(T). The behavior of the jet-like component is remarkably consistent for different collision systems, suggesting it is produced by fragmentation. The width of the jet-like correlation is found to increase with the system size. The ridge, previously observed in Au+Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV, is also found in Cu+Cu collisions and in collisions at root s(NN) = 62.4 GeV, but is found to be substantially smaller at root s(NN) = 62.4 GeV than at root s(NN) = 200 GeV for the same average number of participants ( ). Measurements of the ridge are compared to models.

New prototype multi-gap resistive plate chambers with long strips

A new kind of Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chamber (MRPC) has been built for the large-area Muon Telescope Detector (MTD) for the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). These long read-out strip Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chambers (LMRPCs) have an active area of 87.0 � 17.0 cm 2 and ten 250mm-thick gas gaps arranged as a double stack. Each read-out strip is 2.5 cm wide and 90 cm long. The signals are read-out at both ends of each strip. Cosmic ray tests indicate a time resolution of � 70 ps and a detection efficiency of greater than 95%. Beam tests performed at T963 at Fermilab indicate a time resolution of 60–70 ps and a spatial resolution of � 1 cm along the strip direction. & 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of Tracking Detectors with industrially produced GEM Foils

The planned tracking upgrade of the STAR experiment at RHIC includes a large-area GEM tracker used to determine the charge sign of electrons and positrons produced from W+(-) decays. For such a large-scale project commercial availability of GEM foils is necessary. We report first results obtained with a triple GEM detector using GEM foils produced by Tech-Etch Inc. of Plymouth, MA. Measurements of gain uniformity, long-term stability as well as measurements of the energy resolution for X-rays are compared to results obtained with an identical detector using GEM foils produced at CERN. A quality assurance procedure based on optical tests using an automated high-resolution scanner has been established, allowing a study of the correlation of the observed behavior of the detector and the geometrical properties of the GEM foils. Detectors based on Tech-Etch and CERN produced foils both show good uniformity of the gain over the active area and stable gain after an initial charge-up period, making them well suited for precision tracking applications.

Measurements of light nuclei production in 11.5a GeV/c Au+Pb heavy-ion collisions

We report on measurements by the E864 experiment at the BNL-AGS of the yields of light nuclei in collisions of Au(197) with beam momentum of 11.5 A GeV/c on targets of Pb(208) and Pt(197). The yields are reported for nuclei with baryon number A=1 up to A=7, and typically cover a rapidity range from y(cm) to y(cm)+1 and a transverse momentum range of approximately 0.1<p(T)/A<0.5 GeV/c. We calculate coalescence scale factors B(A) from which we extract model dependent source dimensions and collective flow velocities. We also examine the dependences of the yields on baryon number, spin, and isospin of the produced nuclei.