Medium Modification of Jet Fragmentation inAu+AuCollisions atsNN=200  GeVMeasured in Direct Photon-Hadron Correlations

The jet fragmentation function is measured with direct photon-hadron correlations in p + p and Au + Au collisions at root S-NN = 200 GeV. The P-T of the photon is an excellent approximation to the initial P-T of the jet and the ratio Z(T) = P-T(h)/P-T(gamma) is used as a proxy for the jet fragmentation function. A statistical subtraction is used to extract the direct photon-hadron yields in Au + Au collisions while a photon isolation cut is applied in p + p. I-AA, the ratio of hadron yield opposite the photon in Au + Au to that in p + p, indicates modification of the jet fragmentation function. Suppression, most likely due to energy loss in the medium, is seen at high Z(T). The associated h…

The PHENIX Collaboration

Υ(1S+2S+3S)production ind+Au andp+pcollisions atsNN=200GeV and cold-nuclear-matter effects

The three gamma states, gamma (1S + 2S + 3S), are measured in d + Au and p + p collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV and rapidities 1.2 < vertical bar y vertical bar < 2.2 by the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Cross sections for the inclusive gamma (1S + 2S + 3S) production are obtained. The inclusive yields per binary collision for d + Au collisions relative to those in p + p collisions (R-dAu) are found to be 0.62 +/- 0.26 (stat) +/- 0.13 (syst) in the gold-going direction and 0.91 +/- 0.33 (stat) +/- 0.16 (syst) in the deuteron-going direction. The measured results are compared to a nuclear-shadowing model, EPS09 [Eskola et al., J. High Energy Phys. 04 (2009) 065]…

Meson production inp+U, O+U and S+U interactions at 200 GeV/nucleon

Meson production in proton, oxygen and sulphur interactions with uranium targets at 200 GeV/nucleon is studied. We measure the inclusive meson cross-section d σ/dPT2 and its evolution fromp+U to S+U. The cross-section fitted with an exponential gives an inverse slopePT0 of the order of 210 MeV/c. As a function of the neutral transverse energy,PT0 values show a slight rise followed by a plateau. The normalized difference (σ+−σ−)/σ− between positive and negative meson cross-sections is found to increase withET.

Measurement ofΥ(1S+2S+3S)production inp+pand Au + Au collisions atsNN=200GeV

Measurements of bottomonium production in heavy-ion and p + p collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) are presented. The inclusive yield of the three states, (1S + 2S + 3S), was measured in the PHENIX experiment via electron-positron decay pairs at midrapidity for Au + Au and p + p collisions at root sNN = 200 GeV. The (1S + 2S + 3S) -> e(+)e(-) differential cross section at midrapidity was found to be B(ee)d sigma/dy = 108 +/- 38 (stat) +/- 15 (syst) +/- 11 (luminosity) pb in p + p collisions. The nuclear modification factor in the 30% most central Au + Au collisions indicates a suppression of the total. state yield relative to the extrapolation from p + p collision data. …

Study of J/$\psi$ production in p-U, O-U and S-U interactions at 200 GeV per nucleon

Abstract In a search for quark-gluon plasma formation, the production of J/ψ and muon pairs in the mass continuum region is studied in oxygen-uranium and sulphur-uranium interactions. The yield of J/ψ relative to the continuum is measured to be a decreasing function of the neutral transverse energy produced in the collision, i.e. of the energy density. A comparison is made with proton-uranium reactions.

Transverse momentum dependence ofηmeson suppression in Au+Au collisions atsNN=200GeV

New measurements by the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider for. production at midrapidity as a function of transverse momentum ((PT)) and collision centrality in root s(NN) = 200 GeV Au + Au and p + p collisions are presented. They indicate nuclear modification factors (R-AA) which are similar in both magnitude and trend to those found in earlier pi(0) measurements. Linear fits to R-AA as a function of (PT) in 5-20 GeV/c show that the slope is consistent with zero within two standard deviations at all centralities, although a slow rise cannot be excluded. Having different statistical and systematic uncertainties, the pi(0) and eta measurements are complementary at high…

Azimuthal correlations of electrons from heavy-flavor decay with hadrons inp+pand Au+Au collisions atsNN=200GeV

Measurements of electrons from the decay of open-heavy-flavor mesons have shown that the yields are suppressed in Au+Au collisions compared to expectations from binary-scaled p+p collisions. These measurements indicate that charm and bottom quarks interact with the hot dense matter produced in heavy-ion collisions much more than expected. Here we extend these studies to two-particle correlations where one particle is an electron from the decay of a heavy-flavor meson and the other is a charged hadron from either the decay of the heavy meson or from jet fragmentation. These measurements provide more detailed information about the interactions between heavy quarks and the matter, such as whet…

Trends in Yield and Azimuthal Shape Modification in Dihadron Correlations in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions

Fast parton probes produced by hard scattering and embedded within collisions of large nuclei have shown that partons suffer large energy loss and that the produced medium may respond collectively to the lost energy. We present measurements of neutral pion trigger particles at transverse momenta p^t_T = 4-12 GeV/c and associated charged hadrons (p^a_T = 0.5-7 GeV/c) as a function of relative azimuthal angle Delta Phi at midrapidity in Au+Au and p+p collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. These data lead to two major observations. First, the relative angular distribution of low momentum hadrons, whose shape modification has been interpreted as a medium response to parton energy loss, is found to…

Measurement of transverse single-spin asymmetries forJ/ψproduction in polarizedp+pcollisions ats=200  GeV

We report the first measurement of transverse single-spin asymmetries in J/psi production from transversely polarized p + p collisions at root s = 200 GeV with data taken by the PHENIX experiment in 2006 and 2008. The measurement was performed over the rapidity ranges 1.2 < vertical bar y vertical bar < 2.2 and vertical bar y vertical bar < 0.35 for transverse momenta up to 6 GeV/c. J/psi production at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider is dominated by processes involving initial-state gluons, and transverse single-spin asymmetries of the J/psi can provide access to gluon dynamics within the nucleon. Such asymmetries may also shed light on the long-standing question in QCD of the J/psi pro…

Low-momentum direct-photon measurement in Cu + Cu collisions at sNN=200GeV

We measured direct photons for pT<5GeV/c in minimum bias and 0%–40% most-central events at midrapidity for Cu+Cu collisions at sNN=200GeV. The e+e− contribution from quasireal direct virtual photons has been determined as an excess over the known hadronic contributions in the e+e− mass distribution. A clear enhancement of photons over the binary scaled p+p fit is observed for pT<4GeV/c in Cu+Cu data. The pT spectra are consistent with the Au+Au data covering a similar number of participants. The inverse slopes of the exponential fits to the excess after subtraction of the p+p baseline are 285±53(stat)±57(syst)MeV/c and 333±72(stat)±45(syst)MeV/c for minimum bias and 0%–40% most-central even…

φ, ϱ, and ω production in pU, OU and SU reactions at 200 GeV per nucleon

Abstract Low mass muon pair production at high P T and low X F studied in pU, OU and SU 200 GeV per nucleon react ions. When energy density or projectile mass are increased, φ production is enhanced as compared with the yield of muon pairs in the mass continuum (1.7 M μμ c 2 ), whereas the production of ω and ϱ, experimentally unresolved, remains approximately constant. This φ enhancement is in agreement with predictions based on quark-gluon plasma formation and, together with the previously reported J/Ψ suppression, puts severe constraints on a purely hadronic description of nucleus-nucleus collisions.

Cold Nuclear Matter Effects onJ/ψYields as a Function of Rapidity and Nuclear Geometry ind+ACollisions atsNN=200  GeV

We present measurements of J/psi yields in d + Au collisions at root S-NN = 200 GeV recorded by the PHENIX experiment and compare them with yields in p + p collisions at the same energy per nucleon-nucleon collision. The measurements cover a large kinematic range in J/psi rapidity (-2.2 < y < 2.4) with high statistical precision and are compared with two theoretical models: one with nuclear shadowing combined with final state breakup and one with coherent gluon saturation effects. In order to remove model dependent systematic uncertainties we also compare the data to a simple geometric model. The forward rapidity data are inconsistent with nuclear modifications that are linear or exponentia…

Production ofωmesons inp+p,d+ Au, Cu + Cu, and Au + Au collisions atsNN=200GeV

The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has measured omega meson production via leptonic and hadronic decay channels in p + p, d + Au, Cu+ Cu, and Au + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV. The invariant transverse momentum spectra measured in different decay modes give consistent results. Measurements in the hadronic decay channel in Cu Cu and Au + Au collisions show that. production has a suppression pattern at high transverse momentum, similar to that of pi(0) and eta in central collisions, but no suppression is observed in peripheral collisions. The nuclear modification factors, R-AA, are consistent in Cu + Cu and Au + Au collisions at similar numbers of participan…

Measurements of e+e− pairs from open heavy flavor in p+p and d+A collisions at sNN=200 GeV

We report a measurement of e+e− pairs from semileptonic heavy-flavor decays in p+p collisions at sNN=200 GeV. The e+e− pair yield from bb¯ and cc¯ is separated by exploiting a double differential fit done simultaneously in dielectron invariant mass and pT. We used three different event generators, pythia, mc@nlo, and powheg, to simulate the e+e− spectra from cc¯ and bb¯ production. The data can be well described by all three generators within the detector acceptance. However, when using the generators to extrapolate to 4π, significant differences are observed for the total cross section. These difference are less pronounced for bb¯ than for cc¯. The same model dependence was observed in alr…

Suppression of away-side jet fragments with respect to the reaction plane in Au + Au collisions atsNN=200GeV

Pair correlations between large transverse momentum neutral pion triggers (p(T) = 4-7 GeV/c) and charged hadron partners (p(T) = 3-7 GeV/c) in central (0%-20%) and midcentral (20%-60%) Au + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV are presented as a function of trigger orientation with respect to the reaction plane. The particles are at larger momentum than where jet shape modifications have been observed, and the correlations are sensitive to the energy loss of partons traveling through hot densematter. An out-of-plane trigger particle produces only 26 +/- 20% of the away-side pairs that are observed opposite of an in-plane trigger particle for midcentral (20%-60%) collisions. In contrast, ne…

Alignment of the ALICE Inner Tracking System with cosmic-ray tracks

ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) experiment devoted to investigating the strongly interacting matter created in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the LHC energies. The ALICE ITS, Inner Tracking System, consists of six cylindrical layers of silicon detectors with three different technologies; in the outward direction: two layers of pixel detectors, two layers each of drift, and strip detectors. The number of parameters to be determined in the spatial alignment of the 2198 sensor modules of the ITS is about 13,000. The target alignment precision is well below 10 micron in some cases (pixels). The sources of alignment information include survey measurement…

Transverse energy distributions in nucleus-nucleus collisions at 200 GeV/nucleon

Abstract The transverse energy ET distributions of nucleus-nucleus collisions are studied in the framework of a simple geometrical model. The distributions for inclusive production of J ψ and muon pairs in the mass continuum are analyzed. The shape of the ET distribution of the continuum agreed with the model. The previously oberved decrease of the ratio ( J ψ )/continuum with increasing ET is due to the behavior of the J ψ .

Direct photon production ind+Au collisions atsNN=200GeV

Direct photons have been measured in root s(NN) = 200 GeV d + Au collisions at midrapidity. A wide p(T) range is covered by measurements of nearly real virtual photons (1 < p(T) < 6 GeV/c) and real photons (5 < p(T) < 16 GeV/c). The invariant yield of the direct photons in d + Au collisions over the scaled p + p cross section is consistent with unity. Theoretical calculations assuming standard cold-nuclear-matter effects describe the data well for the entire p(T) range. This indicates that the large enhancement of direct photons observed in Au + Au collisions for 1.0 < p(T) < 2.5 GeV/c is attributable to a source other than the initial-state nuclear effects.

The ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC

Journal of Instrumentation 3(08), S08002 (2008). doi:10.1088/1748-0221/3/08/S08002

Two-pion Bose-Einstein correlations inppcollisions ats=900  GeV

We report on the measurement of two-pion correlation functions from pp collisions at root s = 900 GeV performed by the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Our analysis shows an increase of the Hanbury Brown-Twiss radius with increasing event multiplicity, in line with other measurements done in particle- and nuclear collisions. Conversely, the strong decrease of the radius with increasing transverse momentum, as observed at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and at Tevatron, is not manifest in our data.

Transverse momentum of produced in pCu, pU, 16OCu, 16OU and 32SU collisions at 200 GeV per nucleon

Midrapidity Antiproton-to-Proton Ratio inppCollisons ats=0.9and 7 TeV Measured by the ALICE Experiment

The ratio of the yields of antiprotons to protons in pp collisions has been measured by the ALICE experiment at root s = 0.9 and 7 TeV during the initial running periods of the Large Hadron Collider. The measurement covers the transverse momentum interval 0.45 < p(t) < 1.05 GeV/c and rapidity vertical bar y vertical bar < 0.5. The ratio is measured to be R-vertical bar y vertical bar<0.5 = 0.957 +/- 0.006(stat) +/- 0.0014(syst) at 0.9 Tev and R-vertical bar y vertical bar<0.5 = 0.991 +/- 0.005 +/- 0.014(syst) at 7 TeV and it is independent of both rapidity and transverse momentum. The results are consistent with the conventional model of baryon-number transport and set stringent limits on a…

Nuclear modification factors ofϕmesons ind+Au,Cu+Cu, andAu+Aucollisions atsNN=200 GeV

The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has performed systematic measurements of phi meson production in the K+K- decay channel at midrapidity in p + p, d + Au, Cu + Cu, and Au + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV. Results are presented on the phi invariant yield and the nuclear modification factor R-AA for Au + Au and Cu + Cu, and R-dA for d + Au collisions, studied as a function of transverse momentum (1 < p(T) < 7 GeV/c) and centrality. In central and midcentral Au + Au collisions, the R-AA of phi exhibits a suppression relative to expectations from binary scaled p + p results. The amount of suppression is smaller than that of the pi(0) and the. in the intermediat…

Search for dark photons from neutral meson decays inp+pandd+Aucollisions atsNN=200 GeV

The standard model (SM) of particle physics is spectacularly successful, yet the measured value of the muon anomalous magnetic moment (g−2)μ deviates from SM calculations by 3.6σ. Several theoretical models attribute this to the existence of a “dark photon,” an additional U(1) gauge boson, which is weakly coupled to ordinary photons. The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has searched for a dark photon, U, in π0,η→γe+e− decays and obtained upper limits of O(2×10−6) on U−γ mixing at 90% C.L. for the mass range 30<mU<90 MeV/c2. Combined with other experimental limits, the remaining region in the U−γ mixing parameter space that can explain the (g−2)μ deviation from its SM…

The ALICE Collaboration

The production of mesons containing strange quarks (KS, φ) and both singly and doubly strange baryons ( , , and − + +) are measured at mid-rapidity in pp collisions at √ s = 0.9 TeV with the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The results are obtained from the analysis of about 250 k minimum bias events recorded in 2009. Measurements of yields (dN/dy) and transverse momentum spectra at mid-rapidity for inelastic pp collisions are presented. For mesons, we report yields (〈dN/dy〉) of 0.184 ± 0.002(stat.) ± 0.006(syst.) for KS and 0.021 ± 0.004(stat.) ± 0.003(syst.) for φ. For baryons, we find 〈dN/dy〉 = 0.048 ± 0.001(stat.) ± 0.004(syst.) for , 0.047 ± 0.002(stat.) ± 0.005(syst.) for and 0.0101 ± 0.0…

Measurement ofKS0andK*0inp+p,d+Au, and Cu + Cu collisions atsNN=200 GeV

The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has performed a systematic study of K-S(0) and K*(0) meson production at midrapidity in p + p, d + Au, and Cu + Cu collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV. The K-S(0) and K*(0) mesons are reconstructed via their K-S(0) -> pi(0)(-> gamma gamma) pi(0)(-> gamma gamma) and K*(0) -> K-+/-pi(-/+) decay modes, respectively. The measured transverse-momentum spectra are used to determine the nuclear modification factor of K-S(0) and K*(0) mesons in d + Au and Cu + Cu collisions at different centralities. In the d + Au collisions, the nuclear modification factor of K-S(0) and K*(0) mesons is almost constant as a function of transverse momentum a…

Transverse momentum of j/$\psi$ produced in oxygen-uranium collisions at 200 GeV per nucleon

Abstract The study of the J ψ transverse momentum distribution in oxygen-uranium reactions at 200 GeV/nucleon shows that 〈PT〉 and 〈PT2〉 increase with the transverse energy of the reaction. Muon pairs in the mass continuum do not exhibit the same behaviour. The comparison of the J ψ production rates in central and peripheral collisions shows a significant diminution for low PT central events.

Ground and excited state charmonium production inp+pcollisions ats=200  GeV

We report on charmonium measurements [J/psi (1S), psi' (2S), and chi(c) (1P)] in p + p collisions at root s = 200 GeV. We find that the fraction of J/psi coming from the feed-down decay of psi' and chi(c) in the midrapidity region (vertical bar y vertical bar < 0: 35) is 9.6 +/- 2.4% and 32 +/- 9%, respectively. We also present the p(T) and rapidity dependencies of the J/psi yield measured via dielectron decay at midrapidity (vertical bar y vertical bar < 0.35) and via dimuon decay at forward rapidity (1.2 < vertical bar y vertical bar < 2.2). The statistical precision greatly exceeds that reported in our previous publication [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 232002 (2007)]. The new results are compare…

Measurements of Elliptic and Triangular Flow in High-MultiplicityHe3+AuCollisions atsNN=200  GeV

We present the first measurement of elliptic ($v_2$) and triangular ($v_3$) flow in high-multiplicity $^{3}$He$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. Two-particle correlations, where the particles have a large separation in pseudorapidity, are compared in $^{3}$He$+$Au and in $p$$+$$p$ collisions and indicate that collective effects dominate the second and third Fourier components for the correlations observed in the $^{3}$He$+$Au system. The collective behavior is quantified in terms of elliptic $v_2$ and triangular $v_3$ anisotropy coefficients measured with respect to their corresponding event planes. The $v_2$ values are comparable to those previously measured in $d$$+$Au collis…