Evolution of energy density fluctuations in A + A collisions

Two-particle angular correlation for charged particles emitted in Au + Au collisions at the center-of-mass of 200 MeV measured at RHIC energies revealed novel structures commonly referred to as a nearside ridge. The ridge phenomenon in relativistic A + A collisions is rooted probably in the initial conditions of the thermal evolution of the system. In this study we analyze the evolution of the bumping transverse structure of the energy density distribution caused by fluctuations of the initial density distributions that could lead to the ridge structures. We suppose that at very initial stage of collisions the typical one-event structure of the initial energy density profile can be presented as the set of longitudinal tubes, which are boost invariant in some space-rapidity region and are rather thin. These tubes have very high energy density comparing to smooth background density distribution. The transverse velocity and energy density profiles at different times of the evolution till the chemical freeze-out (at the temperature T = 165 MeV) will be reached by the system are calculated for sundry initial scenarios.     

Transverse-momentum spectra in Au+Au and d+Au collisions at sqrt[s(NN)]=200 GeV and the pseudorapidity dependence of high-p(T) suppression

We present spectra of charged hadrons from Au+Au and d+Au collisions at sqrt[s(NN)]=200 GeV measured with the BRAHMS experiment at RHIC. The spectra for different collision centralities are compared to spectra from p+(-)p collisions at the same energy scaled by the number of binary collisions. The resulting ratios (nuclear modification factors) for central Au+Au collisions at eta=0 and eta=2.2 evidence a strong suppression in the high p(T) region (>2 GeV/c). In contrast, the d+Au nuclear modification factor (at eta=0) exhibits an enhancement of the high p(T) yields. These measurements indicate a high energy loss of the high p(T) particles in the medium created in the central Au+Au collisions. The lack of suppression in d+Au collisions makes it unlikely that initial state effects can explain the suppression in the central Au+Au collisions.     

Initial and Final State Temperatures of Antiproton Emission Sources in High Energy Collisions

The momentum or transverse momentum spectra of antiprotons produced at mid-rapidity in proton-helium (p+He), gold-gold (Au+Au), deuton-gold (d+Au), and lead-lead (Pb+Pb) collisions over an energy range from a few GeV to a few TeV are analyzed by the Erlang distribution, the inverse power-law (the Hagedorn function), and the blast-wave fit, or the superposition of two-component step function. The excitation functions of parameters such as the mean transverse momentum, initial state temperature, kinetic freeze-out temperature, and transverse flow velocity increase (slightly) from a few GeV to a few TeV and from peripheral to central collisions. At high energy and in central collisions, large collision energy is deposited in the system, which results in high degrees of excitation and expansion.

     

Baryon deceleration and partonic plasma creation by strong chromofields in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions

Strong chromofields generated at early stages of ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions may explain not only creation of the quark-gluon plasma but also collective deceleration of net baryons. This is demonstrated by solving classical equations of motion for baryonic slabs under the action of a time-dependent chromofield. We have studied sensitivity of the slab trajectories and their final rapidities to the initial strength and decay time of the chromofield, as well as to the back reaction of the produced plasma. By proper choice of the initial chromofield energy density we can reproduce significant baryon stopping, an average rapidity loss of about two units, observed for Au + Au collisions at RHIC. Using a Bjorken-like hydrodynamical model with the particle production source, we also study the evolution of partonic plasma produced as the result of the chromofield decay. Due to the delayed formation and expansion of plasma its maximum energy density is significantly lower than the initial energy density of the chromofield. It is shown that the fluctuations of the chromofield due to the stochastic distribution of color charges help to populate the midrapidity region in the net-baryon distribution. To fit the midrapidity data we need the chromofields with initial energy densities in the range of 30 to 60 GeV/fm³. Predictions of baryon stopping for Pb + Pb collisions at LHC energies are made.     

J/psi production in sqrt s_NN=200 GeV Cu+Cu collisions

Yields for J/psi production in Cu+Cu collisions at sqrt s_NN=200 GeV have been measured over the rapidity range |y|<2.2 and compared with results in p+p and Au+Au collisions at the same energy. The Cu+Cu data offer greatly improved precision over existing Au+Au data for J/psi production in collisions with small to intermediate numbers of participants, in the range where the quark-gluon plasma transition threshold is predicted to lie. Cold nuclear matter estimates based on ad hoc fits to d+Au data describe the Cu+Cu data up to N_part approximately 50, corresponding to a Bjorken energy density of at least 1.5 GeV/fm(3).     

Energy dependence of transverse quark flow in heavy ion collisions

Energy dependence of quark transverse flow carries information about dynamical properties (equation of state, initial conditions) of deconfined matter produced in heavy ion collisions. We assume quark-antiquark matter formation in Pb+Pb collisions at CERN SPS and Au+Au collisions at RHIC energies and determine quark transverse flow at the critical temperature of the quark-hadron phase transition. Coalescence of massive quarks is calculated in the MICOR hadronization model and hadronic final state effects are considered using the GROMIT cascade program. Comparing theoretical results to data, transverse flow values are determined and energy dependence is discussed.     

Two-particle azimuthal correlations of high-pT charged hadrons at the CERN SPS

Two-particle azimuthal correlations of high-p _T hadrons can serve as a probe of interactions of partons with the dense medium produced in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. First NA49 results on such correlations are presented for central and mid-central Pb+Pb collisions at 158A GeV beam energy, for different centrality bins and charge combinations of trigger and associate particles. These results feature a flattened away-side peak in the most central collisions, which is consistent with expectations of the medium-interaction scenario. A comparison with CERES Pb+Au results at the same energy, as well as with PHENIX Au+Au results at the top RHIC energy, is provided.     

Collective flow model for the pion transverse momentum spectra from relativistic nuclear collisions at CERN

The transverse momentum spectra for pions observed by WA80 and NA35 collaborations are analysed within a fireball model with collective isentropic expansion and a realistic freeze-out criterion. By varing the initial state of the fireball, an excellent fit to the data is achieved for the whole measured range ofP _T . Slight differences in the data for the spectral slopes from central and pheripheral collisions originate in our model from the difference in the size of the fireball and in the number of participating nucleons in central and peripheral collisions. Using additional information from two-pion correlations, we can extrapolate our model back from the freeze-out point (determined from the spectra) to the initial state; we find that an initial energy density of 1.5–2GGeV/fm³ is sufficient to explain the data from central O+Au collisions at 200A GeV.     

Relativistic calculations of electronic excitation probabilities in U<Superscript>92+</Superscript>-U<Superscript>91+</Superscript>(1<Emphasis Type="Italic">s</Emphasis>) collisions in the monopole approximation

Heavy ion collisions U⁹²⁺-U⁹¹⁺(1s) at a 6 MeV incident particle energy per nucleon are considered. The wave function of the electron was determined by solving the Dirac time-dependent equation in a central field, which is the sum of the potential of the target nucleus and the potential of the incident nucleus taken in the monopole approximation. The Dirac equation was solved using the basis set of Hermitian B-splines. The probabilities of remaining in the 1s target state were calculated as functions of the impact parameter.     

Multiplicity and pseudorapidity distributions of charged particles from32S induced heavy ion interactions at 200A GeV

Multiplicity and pseudorapidity distributions have been measured for³²S+Al, Cu, Ag and Au at 200A GeV. The widths of the pseudorapidity distributions increase from central to peripheral collisions. The main contribution is assumed to come from the increasing fraction of charged particles stemming from the fragmentation of the target for peripheral collisions as compared to central collisions. On the average 170–180 charged particles per unit of pseudorapidity are attained for the most central³²S+Au events at the maximum of the distribution. The target dependence of the yield of charged particles for central collisions is investigated. In the target rapidity region the yield is directly proportional to the target mass. The transverse energy per charged particle has been studied as a function of centrality and pseudorapidity. The experimental results are compared to the results from the Monte-Carlo model VENUS 3.11 which includes rescattering among secondaries. A comparison between different centrality triggers is made.     

Comments on |V ub /V cb | and |V ub | from non-leptonic B decays within the perturbative QCD approach

The Color String Percolation Model (CSPM) is used to determine the equation of state (EOS) of the Quark–Gluon Plasma (QGP) produced in central Au–Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathit{NN}}} = 200$  A GeV using STAR data at RHIC. When the initial density of interacting colored strings exceeds the 2D percolation threshold a cluster is formed, which defines the onset of color deconfinement. These interactions also produce fluctuations in the string tension which transforms the Schwinger particle (gluon) production mechanism into a maximum entropy thermal distribution analogous to QCD Hawking–Unruh radiation. The single string tension is determined by identifying the known value of the universal hadron limiting temperature T _c =167.7±2.6 MeV with the CSPM temperature at the critical percolation threshold parameter ξ _c =1.2. At midrapidity the initial Bjorken energy density and the initial temperature determine the number of degrees of freedom consistent with the formation of a ～2+1 flavor QGP. An analytic expression for the equation of state, the sound velocity $C_{s}^{2}(\xi)$ is obtained in CSPM. The CSPM $C_{s}^{2}(\xi)$ and the bulk thermodynamic values energy density ε/T ⁴ and entropy density s/T ³ are in excellent agreement in the phase transition region with recent lattice QCD simulations (LQCD) by the HotQCD Collaboration.     

Mass number scaling in ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions from a hydrodynamical approach

We study the different nucleus-nucleus collisions, O+Au, S+S, S+Ag, S+Au and Pb+Pb, at the CERN-SPS energy in a one-fluid hydrodynamical approach using a parametrization based on baryon stopping in terms of the thickness of colliding nuclei. Good agreement with measured particle spectra is achieved. We deduce the mass number scaling behaviour of the initial energy density. We find that the equilibration time is nearly independent of the size of the colliding nuclei. Received: 23 January 1998 / Revised version: 8 May 1998 / Published online: 12 August 1998     

Transverse energy measurement in Au+Au collisions by the STAR experiment

Transverse energy (E _T ) has been measured with both of its components, namely hadronic (E _T ^had ) and electromagnetic (E _T ^em ) in a common phase space at mid-rapidity for 62.4 GeV Au+Au collisions by the STAR experiment. E _T production with centrality and ?{s_NN }\sqrt {s_{NN} } is studied with similar measurements from SPS to RHIC and is compared with a final state gluon saturation model (EKRT). The most striking feature is the observation of a nearly constant value of E _T /N _ch ∼ 0.8 GeV from AGS, SPS to RHIC. The initial energy density estimated by the boost-invariant Bjorken hydrodynamic model, is well above the critical density for a deconfined matter of quarks and gluons predicted by lattice QCD calculations.     

Target mass dependence and intranuclear cascade in high energy nucleus-nucleus collisions

Intranuclear cascade, one of the most important non-linear effects in high energy nucleus-nucleus collisions, is investigated, its influence on the target mass dependence of the distributions of final state particles is discussed. Using hydrodynamical model to treat non-linear effects, the main features of the rapidity distributions and their dependence on the target mass are naturally explained. The results of numerical calculation for¹⁶O-A central collisions at 60 and 200A GeV agree with the existing data.     

Effects of bulk viscosity on hadron spectra and the Hanbury-Brown Twiss radius by causal viscous hydrodynamics

The particle spectra and Hanbury-Brown Twiss (HBT) radius of Au+Au collisions at RHIC energy are investigated by a hydrodynamical expanding source with both shear and bulk viscosities ($\zeta$). With a large width of the ratio of $\zeta$ to entropy density s, both the particle transverse momentum spectra and the ratio R_\rm out/R_\rm side of HBT radii in the direction of the total transverse momentum of detected two particles (R_\rm out) and perpendicular to both this direction and the beam direction (R_\rm side) become a little steeper.     

Collective effects in the interactions of small systems on the RHIC

It has long been believed that small colliding systems (p+Au, d+Au, ³He + Au) are can only be used to study the collective effects of cold nuclear matter. However, recent studies on the RHIC and LHC accelerators indicate there are flowlike collective effects characterized by the high multiplicity of charged particles produced in these collisions. Whether these effects result from the hydrodynamic expansion of a dense and hot thermalized medium or are caused by the initial state remains an open question. This work reports the results from measuring flow characteristics in d + Au and ³He + Au collisions at an energy of 200 GeV in the PHENIX experiment on the RHIC collider. Attempts to describe the results theoretically are discussed.     

Ks0 and Λ elliptic flow from 200 GeV Cu+Cu collisions

Elliptic flow allows us to probe early dynamics in high energy nuclear collisions. The υ ₂ result of charged hadrons and identified hadrons [1,2] from 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC suggest that the matter with partonic collectivity and thermalization has been formed in central collisions. In this analysis, we present preliminary results of υ ₂ for K _S ⁰ and Λ from 200 GeV Cu+Cu collisions. The partonic collectivity and thermalization assumption are tested in smaller Cu+Cu system comparing with those from Au+Au collisions.     

Impact parameter selected nuclear temperatures of hot nuclei from excited state populations for 40Ar+197 Au reactions at E/A=25MeV

Nuclear temperatures extracted from excited state populations were measured as a function of linear momentum transfer (LMT) for ⁴⁰Ar+¹⁹⁷ Au reactions at 25MeV/nucleon. The emission temperatures increased slightly with increasing linear momentum transfer or decreasing impact parameter. Taking into account the corrections of detection efficiency and sequential feeding from higher-lying states, a temperature of T ≈ 4MeV was deduced for central collisions. For peripheral collisions the extracted temperatures increased with the energy of the particles.