Directed flow of identified particles from Au+Au collisions at RHIC

We present the measurement of directed flow (v ₁) for the identified particles, namely, Λ, $ \bar \Lambda $ \bar \Lambda and K _s ⁰, as a function of rapidity and centrality in Au+Au collisions at $ \sqrt {s_{NN} } $ \sqrt {s_{NN} } = 200 GeV and 62.4 GeV. The measurement is based on the run IV data obtained by the STAR experiment at RHIC. In order to enhance event plane resolution, we use tracks reconstructed from the Forward Time Projection Chambers (FTPCs), together with the sideward deflection of spectator neutrons measured by the STAR’s Shower Maximum Detector at Zero Degree Calorimeters (ZDC-SMDs). We find that for 200 GeV, proton and antiproton v ₁ is less than 1%, the K _s ⁰ Λ, $ \bar \Lambda $ \bar \Lambda v ₁ is less than 2%; for 62 GeV, proton v ₁ is less than 1% and antiproton is less than 2%, v ₁ for K _s ⁰, Λ, $ \bar \Lambda $ \bar \Lambda is less than 2% in Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV.     

What can we learn from the energy dependence of strangeness production at RHIC?

Measurements of strange and multi-strange particles with the STAR detector at center of mass energies per nucleon pair () of 62.4 GeV and 200 GeV in ultra-relativistic Au+Au collisions at RHIC are presented. The results are discussed in order to get insight into chemical and dynamical properties of the created medium. The former are obtained by comparison of transverse momentum (p_T) integrated observables such as yields and particle ratios to statistical models, while the latter use p_T dependent quantities such as single particle spectra and elliptic flow measurements to challenge hydrodynamical model calculations and parameterizations. The discussion is orientated towards the energy dependence of these properties by confronting the results at the different RHIC energies but also with the lower SPS energies.     

Characteristics of charged particle production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

Inclusive spectra of charged particles at midrapidity in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 130$ GeV and 200 GeV were measured with the STAR detector at RHIC. The measured mean transverse momentum 〈p _T 〉 shows a characteristic dependence on charged particle multiplicity and beam energy in Au+Au collisions that is distinctly different from pp, $p\bar p$ and e⁺e^? collisions. A 32%±3%(syst) increase in 〈p _T 〉 from pp to Au+Au collisions was observed at 200 GeV. While the charged multiplicity was found to increase by 19%±5%(syst) from $\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 130$ GeV to 200 GeV, no significant difference in 〈p _T 〉 was found between the two energies. A comparison with model predictions is discussed.     

Event-by-event hadron ratio fluctuations from Au+Au collisions at RHIC-STAR

We present measurements of event-by-event fluctuations on hadron multiplicity ratios (K/??, p/??, K/p) in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt {s_{NN} } $ and 200 GeV using the STAR detector at RHIC. The magnitude of dynamical fluctuations ?? _dyn for p/?? and K/p ratios change smoothly from a large negative value at 7.7 GeV to a smaller negative value at 200 GeV while that for the K/?? ratios exhibits no significant beam energy dependence. The dynamical fluctuations related to pair production ?? _dyn ^pair dyn for the p/K, K/p, K ^?/K ⁺ and p/p ratios at 200 GeV all exhibit a maximum at the mid-central collisions and decrease at the most peripheral and most central collisions.     

Centrality dependence of freeze-out parameters from Au+Au collisions at \sqrt {s_{NN} } = 7.7, 11.5 and 39 GeV

The RHIC beam energy scan program in its first phase collected data for Au+Au collisions at beam energies of 7.7, 11.5 and 39 GeV. The event statistics collected at these lower energies allow us to study the centrality dependence of various observables in detail, and compare to fixed-target experiments at SPS for similar beam energies. The chemical and kinetic freeze-out parameters can be extracted from the experimentally measured yields of identified hadrons within the framework of thermodynamical models. These then provide information about the system at the stages of the expansion where inelastic and elastic collisions of the constituents cease. We present the centrality dependence of freeze-out parameters for Au+Au collisions at midrapidity for $\sqrt {s_{NN} } $ = 7.7, 11.5, and 39 GeV from the STAR experiment. The chemical freeze-out conditions are obtained by comparing the measured particle ratios (involving ??, K, p, and p) to those from the statistical thermal model calculations. The kinetic freeze-out conditions are extracted at these energies by simultaneously fitting the invariant yields of identified hadrons (??, K, and p) using Blast Wave model calculations.     

Azimuthal correlations with high-pT multi-hadron cluster triggers in Au+Au collisions at ?{sNN } \sqrt {s_{NN} } = 200 GeV from STAR

Di-hadron correlation measurements have been used to probe di-jet production in heavy ion collisions at RHIC. A strong suppression of the away-side high-p _T yield in these measurements is direct evidence that high-p _T partons lose energy as they traverse the strongly interacting medium. However, since the momentum of the trigger particle is not a good measure of the jet energy, azimuthal di-hadron correlations have limited sensitivity to the shape of the fragmentation function. We explore the possibility to better constrain the initial parton energy by using clusters of multiple high-p _T hadrons in a narrow cone as the ‘trigger particle’ in the azimuthal correlation analysis. We present first results from this analysis of multi-hadron triggered correlated yields in Au+Au collisions at $ \sqrt {s_{NN} } $ \sqrt {s_{NN} } = 200 GeV from STAR. The results are compared with measurements in d + Au collisions and Pythia calculations, and the implications for energy loss and jet fragmentation are discussed.     

Charged hadron suppression in Au+Au collisions at high p T from STAR

We report high statistics measurements of inclusive charged hadron production in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 200$ GeV and 130 GeV. A large, approximately constant hadron suppression is observed in central Au+Au collisions for 5 ‖p _T ‖ 12 GeV/c. The collision energy dependence of the yields and the centrality and p _T dependence of the suppression provide stringent constraints on theoretical models of suppression. Models incorporating initial-state gluon saturation or partonic energy loss in dense matter are largely consistent with observations. The p _T -dependent suppression expected from models incorporating jet attenuation in cold nuclear matter or absorption of fragmentation hadrons is not observed.     

Probing the quark-gluon phase transition using energy and system-size dependence of long-range multiplicity correlations in heavy ion collisions from the STAR experiment

Long-range forward-backward multiplicity correlations have been measured in heavy ion collisions at RHIC. Results for short and long-range multiplicity correlations (forward-backward) are presented for several systems (Au+Au, Cu+Cu, and pp) and energies (e.g. ?{s_NN }\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 200 and 62.4 GeV). A strong, long-range correlation is seen for central heavy ion collisions at ?{s_NN }\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 200 GeV that vanishes in semi-peripheral events and pp collisions. There is no apparent scaling with the number of participants (N _part) involved in the collision. These correlations provide information about the longitudinal behavior of the system formed in heavy ion collisions. To access the transverse behavior, the clusters produced in the same heavy ion collisions have been characterized by a study of the energy and system size dependence of the percolation density parameter (ρ). The relationship between the long-range correlation and percolation has been explored to characterize the hadron-quark/gluon phase transition and rapid thermalization of the system.     

Neutral meson production at high p<Subscript>T</Subscript> with the PHENIX experiment at RHIC

Over the first five years of operation the PHENIX experiment at RHIC has collected a wealth of data for various systems and collision energies that is providing valuable information for the understanding of the suppression pattern observed in central Au+Au collisions at . An overview on transverse-momentum (p_T) spectra of π⁰ and η in different collision energies and systems is presented.     

Searching for the color glass condensate with the STAR Forward Meson Spectrometer

Early results from the Solenoidal Tracker At RHIC (STAR) using prototype forward calorimeters (FPD/FPD++) have shown that in d+Au collisions at $ \sqrt {s_{NN} } $ \sqrt {s_{NN} } = 200 GeV a stronger suppression of forward π ⁰ yield is observed than would be expected from shadowing effects. Exploratory measurements and observations can be qualitatively interpreted using the Color Glass Condensate (CGC) model to describe the colliding nucleus. A new detector, the Forward Meson Spectrometer (FMS), has been built to measure forward pion and photon production to quantify gluon suppression at low x in heavy nuclei over a large range in x and p _T .     

First measurement of J/ψ anisotropy by PHENIX experiment at RHIC

Understanding the J/ψ suppression and possible recombination mechanisms at RHIC is one of the outstanding challenges for theorists and experimentalists. Recent results provided by PHENIX showed a stronger suppression at forward rapidity, while at mid-rapidity the suppression is similar to lower energy collision experiments. A large sample of Au + Au collisions at $ \sqrt {s_{NN} } $ \sqrt {s_{NN} } = 200 GeV was collected in 2007 with the PHENIX experiment at RHIC. Using this sample, J/ψs were identified in the di-electron decay channel. In order to probe the charm coalescence as an additional J/ψ production mechanism at RHIC, we studied the first determination of its v ₂ elliptic flow parameter at mid-rapidity.     

Analysis of multi-strange hyperon production in p+p and Au+Au collisions at RHIC

The analysis of multi-strange hyperon production (Ξ^?, Ω^? and their anti-particles) at mid-rapidity is part of the program covered by the STAR experiment at RHIC. We report on preliminary results in Au+Au and p+p collisions at $\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 130$ and 200 GeV. Measurements of particle ratios are presented and production yields and spectra are discussed for both collision systems.     

Heavy ion e+e− pairs to all orders in Zα

The heavy ion cross section for continuum e⁺e^? pair production has been calculated to all orders in Zα. Comparison is made with available CERN SPS and RHIC STAR data. Computed cross sections are found to be reduced from perturbation theory with increasing charge of the colliding heavy ions and for all energy and momentum regions investigated. Au or Pb total cross sections are reduced by 28% (SPS), 17% (RHIC) and 11% (LHC). For very high energy (E _e ⁺, E _e ^?>3 GeV) forward pairs at LHC the reduction from perturbation theory is a bit larger (17%). Use of zero degree calorimeter triggering (and thus small impact parameter weighting) makes impact parameter representation of exact pair production useful. Preliminary exact calculations in the zero impact parameter limit show a much larger reduction from perturbation theory (about 40%) at both RHIC and LHC.     

System size, energy, centrality and pseudorapidity dependence of charged-particle density in Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at RHIC

Charged particle pseudorapidity distributions are presented from the PHOBOS experiment at RHIC, measured in Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at ?{s_NN }\sqrt {s_{NN} } =19.6, 22.4, 62.4, 130 and 200 GeV, as a function of collision centrality. The presentation includes the recently analyzed Cu+Cu data at 22.4 GeV. The measurements were made by the same detector setup over a broad range in pseudorapidity, |η| < 5.4, allowing for a reliable systematic study of particle production as a function of energy, centrality and system size. Comparing Cu+Cu and Au+Au results, we find that the total number of produced charged particles and the overall shape (height and width) of the pseudorapidity distributions are determined by the number of nucleon participants, N _part. Detailed comparisons reveal that the matching of the shape of the Cu+Cu and Au+Au pseudorapidity distributions over the full range of η is better for the same N _part/2A value than for the same N _part value, where A denotes the mass number. In other words, it is the geometry of the nuclear overlap zone, rather than just the number of nucleon participants that drives the detailed shape of the pseudorapidity distribution and its centrality dependence.     

Search for the onset of baryon anomaly at RHIC-PHENIX

The baryon production mechanism at the intermediate p_T (2–5 GeV/c) at RHIC is still not well understood. The beam energy scan data in Cu+Cu and Au+Au systems at RHIC may provide us a further insight on the origin of the baryon anomaly and its evolution as a function of . In 2005 RHIC physics program, the PHENIX experiment accumulated the first intensive low beam energy data in Cu+Cu collisions. We present the preliminary results of identified charged hadron spectra in Cu+Cu at and 62.4 GeV using the PHENIX detector. The centrality and beam energy dependences of (anti)proton to pion ratios and the nuclear modification factors for charged pions and (anti)protons are presented. PACS 25.75.Dw     

Identified particle production in p+p, d+Au and Au+Au collisions at RHIC

Measurements of identified particle production with the PHENIX experiment at RHIC have reached a mature state, where a multitude of nuclear systems at different colliding energies have been studied. The discovery configurations of $\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 130$ and 200 GeV Au+Au collisions have now been supplemented by additional Au+Au and Cu+Cu configurations at various energies, along with baseline p+p and d+Au runs at $\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 130$ GeV. In this work we present a systematic study of the Cronin effect in d+Au collisions and recent results from p+p collisions. We then proceed to make a critical comparison of pion, kaon and proton production in heavy ion and baseline systems, and discuss the observed nuclear effects on hadron production.     

High p T identified particles in PHENIX: Data vs. theory

Two of the most interesting experimental results of heavy-ion reactions at RHIC collider energies are in the hard scattering sector where central Au+Au data show a very different behaviour compared to p+p and peripheral Au+Au collisions. The so-called “high p _T π ⁰ suppression” and the “anomalous” baryon/meson ratio observed by PHENIX in central Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 200$ GeV are reviewed and compared to various theoretical calculations based on different strongly interacting medium scenarios.     

Modified fragmentation function in heavy ion collisions at RHIC via direct <Emphasis Type="Italic">γ</Emphasis>-jet measurements

The presented results are the first measurements at RHIC for direct γ-charged hadron azimuthal correlations in heavy ion collisions. We use these correlations to study the color charge density of the medium through the medium-induced modification of high-p _T parton fragmentation. Azimuthal correlations of direct photons at high transverse energy (8<p _T <16 GeV) with away-side charged hadrons of transverse momentum (3<p _T <6 GeV/c) have been measured over a broad range of centrality for Au+Au collisions and p+p collisions at  GeV in the STAR experiment. A transverse shower shape analysis in the STAR Barrel Electromagnetic Calorimeter Shower Maximum Detector is used to discriminate between the direct photons and photons from the decays of high p _T π ⁰. The per-trigger away-side yield of direct γ is smaller than from π ⁰ trigger at the same centrality class. Within the current uncertainty the I _CP of direct γ and π ⁰ are similar.     

Hadron production at forward rapidity in nuclear collisions at RHIC

The main experimental results obtained by the BRAHMS experiment at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) for Au+Au collisions at \(\sqrt {s_{NN} } \) =62.4, 200 GeV and d+Au collisions at \(\sqrt {s_{NN} } \) = 200GeV are presented. The m _T spectra and the Gaussian-like rapidity densities of produced pions and kaons in Au+Au central collisions at \(\sqrt {s_{NN} } \) = 200 are GeV shown, and their rapidity densities are compared with results from models. The net-proton yield in the same system is compared with that from AGS and SPS energies to study the high energy collision scenario-transparency and stopping. The rapidity, energy and centrality dependence of the nuclear modification factors in both systems are compared with models to differentiate between the initial and final state effect.     

Direct photon measurement at RHIC-PHENIX

Results on direct photon measurements from the PHENIX experiment at RHIC are presented. The direct photon yields for P _T >6GeV/c as a function of centrality in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 200$ GeV are found to be consistent with NLO pQCD calculation scaled by the number of binary collisions. The results suggest that the photons observed are emitted from the initial stage of hard scattering. Comparisons with several theoretical calculations are also presented.