Φ Meson Production in Heavy Ion Collisions at RHIC

We present Φ meson production in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions measured by the STAR experiment at RHIC.The hadronic decay mode Φ→K~+K~- is used in the analysis.The yields for Φ meson in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at a given beam energy are scaled by the number of participant.The N_(part) normalized Φ meson yields in heavy ion collisions over those from p+p collisions are larger than 1 and increase with collision energy.These results suggest that the source of enhancement of strange hadrons is related to the formation of a dense medium in high energy heavy ion collisions and can not be only due to canonical suppression of their production in smaller systems.We also present STAR results on the Φ meson elliptic flow υ_2 from 2~(1/SNN)=200 GeV Cu+Cu at RHIC.The elliptic flow in Cu+Cu system that has the similar relative magnitude and qualitative features as that in Au+Au system.The observations imply the hot and dense matter with partonic collectivity has been formed in heavy ion collisions at RHIC.However,eccentrality normalized υ_2,υ_2/(n_qε_(part)) is lower for Cu+Cu than for Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV.So this might indicate thermalization has not been reached in 200 GeV Cu+Cu collisions.     

Heavy quark energy loss in high multiplicity proton-proton collisions at the LHC

One of the most promising probes to study deconfined matter created in high energy nuclear collisions is the energy loss of (heavy) quarks. It has been shown in experiments at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider that even charm and bottom quarks, despite their high mass, experience a remarkable medium suppression in the quark gluon plasma. In this exploratory investigation we study the energy loss of heavy quarks in high multiplicity proton-proton collisions at LHC energies. Although the colliding systems are smaller than compared to those at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (p+p vs Au+Au), the higher energy might lead to multiplicities comparable to Cu+Cu collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The interaction of charm quarks with this environment gives rise to a non-negligible suppression of high momentum heavy quarks in elementary collisions.     

System size and energy dependence of jet-induced hadron pair correlation shapes in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at square root sNN=200 and 62.4 GeV

We present azimuthal angle correlations of intermediate transverse momentum (1-4 GeV/c) hadrons from dijets in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at square root sNN=62.4 and 200 GeV. The away-side dijet induced azimuthal correlation is broadened, non-Gaussian, and peaked away from Delta phi=pi in central and semicentral collisions in all the systems. The broadening and peak location are found to depend upon the number of participants in the collision, but not on the collision energy or beam nuclei. These results are consistent with sound or shock wave models, but pose challenges to Cherenkov gluon radiation models.     

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).     

System size and centrality dependence of charged hadron transverse momentum spectra in Au + Au and Cu + Cu collisions at square root of SNN = 62.4 and 200 GeV

We present transverse momentum distributions of charged hadrons produced in Cu + Cu collisions at square root of SNN = 62.4 and 200 GeV. The spectra are measured for transverse momenta of 0.25 < pT < 5.0 GeV/c at square root of SNN = 62.4 GeV and 0.25 < pT < 7.0 GeV/c at square root of SNN = 200 GeV, in a pseudorapidity range of 0.2 < eta < 1.4. The nuclear modification factor R(AA) is calculated relative to p + p data at both collision energies as a function of collision centrality. At a given collision energy and fractional cross section, R(AA) is observed to be systematically larger in Cu + Cu collisions compared to Au + Au. However, for the same number of participating nucleons, R(AA) is essentially the same in both systems over the measured range of pT, in spite of the significantly different geometries of the Cu + Cu and Au + Au systems.     

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.     

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.     

J/Ψ measurement in p+p, d+Au and Au+Au collisions by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC

J/Ψ’s are produced mostly via interactions involving gluons, and are a sensitive probe of the gluon structure function and its modification in nuclei. They are also considered as a leading signal for studying the creation of hot and dense matter in relativistic heavy ion collision. Measurement of J/Ψ production in different colliding systems is important for understanding the nuclear modification factor, and setting a baseline for the study of J/Ψ suppression in heavy ion collisions. In this talk we report the latest results on J/Ψ measurements by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC in p+p; d+Au, and Au+Au collisions at backward, forward, and mid-rapidity. Nuclear effects are studied as a function of transverse momentum, rapidity and centrality.     

Strangeness enhancement in Cu-Cu and Au-Au collisions at √S(NN)=200 GeV

We report new STAR measurements of midrapidity yields for the Λ, Λ[over ˉ], K(S)(0), Ξ(-), Ξ[over ˉ](+), Ω(-), Ω[over ˉ](+) particles in Cu+Cu collisions at √S(NN)==200 GeV, and midrapidity yields for the Λ, Λ[over ˉ], K(S)(0) particles in Au+Au at √S(NN)==200 GeV. We show that, at a given number of participating nucleons, the production of strange hadrons is higher in Cu+Cu collisions than in Au+Au collisions at the same center-of-mass energy. We find that aspects of the enhancement factors for all particles can be described by a parametrization based on the fraction of participants that undergo multiple collisions.     

J/<Emphasis Type="Italic">ψ</Emphasis> production measurements by the PHENIX experiment

Quarkonia suppression is considered to be one of the key probes of the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) created in heavy ion collisions. The PHENIX experiment has measured J/ψ production in a variety of colliding systems. Measurements made in p+p collisions show good agreement with pQCD predictions and serve as baseline for other systems at the same collision energy. The cold nuclear matter contribution to the suppression is constrained through measurements in d+Au collisions. In Au+Au, the suppression observed at mid rapidity is smaller than that at forward rapidity, a tendency opposite to what is expected from the higher gluon density at mid rapidity. The results will be presented and discussed in this article.     

Heavy quark results from STAR

I report the most recent measurements on open heavy flavor production at RHIC on behalf of the STAR collaboration. The total charm production cross section in midrapidity at RHIC energy is found to approximately scale by number of binary collisions in d + Au, Cu + Cu and Au + Au collisions. The nuclear modification factor of non-photonic electrons is strongly suppressed in central Au + Au collisions, suggesting substantial heavy quark energy loss at RHIC. The bottom decay contribution to non-photonic electrons was studied via the e–h and e–D ⁰ azimuthal angular correlations. The bottom contribution is found to be important at p _T >5 GeV/c, and is consistent with the FONLL calculation within uncertainties. Charm production through gluon jet splitting was measured by studying the D ^*± contents in the fully reconstructed jets in p+p collisions. This rate is consistent with pQCD evaluation of gluon splitting into a pair of charm quarks and subsequent hadronization.     

Light charged particle emission and fission in238U+238U collisions at 1,740 MeV

Inclusive⁴He and⁴H energy spectra and heavy fragment coincidence correlations have been measured for reactions of 7.31 MeV/u²³⁸U with²³⁸U and^?197Au targets. The H/He production cross sections are in the range 15–26 mb, and their emission spectra are very similar for the two systems. The observed strong kinematic shifts with angle are reproduced in shape and magnitude by Monte Carlo simulations of particle evaporation from projectile-like and target-like fragments, indicating competition between charged particle emission and sequential fission. No evidence is found for high energy charged particle emission associated with ultra-highZ composite systems. Heavy fragment measurements indicate an abundance of quasielastic and deeply inelastic reaction fragments, as well as sequential fission of target and projectile nuclei. For²³⁸U nuclei, the fission occurs predominantly in an asymmetric mode, reminiscent of fission at low excitation energy. For²³⁸+²³⁸U reactions in the vicinity of the grazing angle, the frequency of single sequential fission (with survival of the partner fragment) is twice as large as double sequential fission in which both the target and projectile undergo fission. In²³⁸U+¹⁹⁷Au reactions, the survival probability of the heavy fragments is even greater. The surprisingly high survival probabilities of high-Z fragments imply a preponderance of very soft collisions in these very-heavy-ion reactions, at least at energies not very far over the Coulomb barrier.     

Properties of light mesons in ultrarelativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions

The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider is designed for studying the new state of nuclear matter, which is presumably created in central ultrarelativistic collisions of heavy nuclei: the so-called quark-gluon plasma. Light mesons are an important tool in this research. This paper reviews the recent experimental results on the light meson invariant yields, nuclear modification factors, and the yield ratios for the vector and pseudoscalar mesons in the p + p, d + Au, and Au + Au collisions at the energy of √s _NN = 200 GeV.     

Expanding quark-gluon plasmas

The expansion and chemical equilibration of a quark-gluon plasma formed in collisions of two heavy nuclei may be described by relativistic fluid dynamics, in combination with chemical rate equations for the different parton species. Using initial conditions obtained from a self-screened parton cascade calculation and allowing for the full three-dimensional expansion of the parton plasma, we make predictions about the life-time of the quark-gluon plasma and the transverse flow velocity at hadronization for Au + Au collisions at RHIC and LHC energy.     

Open charm production from d + Au collisions in STAR

Charmed hadrons are interesting observables in heavy ion collisions. They are becoming more accessible to experimental scrutiny at RHIC energies due to the increased production cross-section of charm with the larger centre-of-mass energy available at RHIC compared to SPS. One source of interest in charm production is due to the fact that gluon fusion dominates the charm production cross-section at high energy. Hence, a measurement of charm hadrons is directly sensitive to the gluon distributions of the colliding particles. In addition, any measurement of production at RHIC, and more importantly any observed suppression, must be compared to the overall production of pairs. A systematic study of charmed hadrons in all collision systems available at RHIC is therefore an invaluable experimental tool in the characterization of the matter produced at RHIC. In particular, d + Au collisions are a necessary step for the comparison of any possible modification of charm production in Au + Au collisions. We present preliminary results on D meson production from d + Au collisions in STAR at = 200 . Arrival of the final proofs: 26 July 2005 PACS: 13.20.Fc, 13.25.Ft, 25.75.-q, 24.85. + p     

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.     

Scaling properties of azimuthal anisotropy in Au+Au and Cu+Cu Collisions at sqrt[s NN]=200 GeV

Differential measurements of elliptic flow (v2) for Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at sqrt[sNN]=200 GeV are used to test and validate predictions from perfect fluid hydrodynamics for scaling of v2 with eccentricity, system size, and transverse kinetic energy (KE T). For KE T identical with mT-m up to approximately 1 GeV the scaling is compatible with hydrodynamic expansion of a thermalized fluid. For large values of KE T mesons and baryons scale separately. Quark number scaling reveals a universal scaling of v2 for both mesons and baryons over the full KE T range for Au+Au. For Au+Au and Cu+Cu the scaling is more pronounced in terms of KE T, rather than transverse momentum.     

Forward neutral pion production in p + p and d + Au collisions at square root sNN=200 GeV

Measurements of the production of forward pi0 mesons from p + p and d + Au collisions at square root sNN=200 GeV are reported. The p + p yield generally agrees with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations. The d + Au yield per binary collision is suppressed as eta increases, decreasing to approximately 30% of the p + p yield at eta =4.00, well below shadowing expectations. Exploratory measurements of azimuthal correlations of the forward pi0 with charged hadrons at eta approximately 0 show a recoil peak in p + p that is suppressed in d + Au at low pion energy. These observations are qualitatively consistent with a saturation picture of the low-x gluon structure of heavy nuclei.     

Testing the mechanism of QGP-Induced energy loss

We present an analytic model of jet quenching, based on the (D)GLV energy loss formalism, to describe the system size dependence of QGP-induced parton absorption in relativistic heavy ion collisions. Numerical simulations of the transverse momentum dependence of jet quenching are given for central Au+Au and Cu+Cu reactions. Low p _Tdijet correlations are shown to be sensitive to the reappearance of the lost energy as soft hadrons. At high p _Twe find that the attenuation of dihadrons is similar to that of single inclusive particles. Comparison to recent data from PHENIX and STAR is given as a test of the jet quenching theory.     

Nuclear modification of electron spectra and implications for heavy quark energy loss in Au+Au collisions at [FORMULA: SEE TEXT

The PHENIX experiment has measured midrapidity ([FORMULA: SEE TEXT]) transverse momentum spectra ([FORMULA: SEE TEXT]) of electrons as a function of centrality in Au+Au collisions at [FORMULA: SEE TEXT]. Contributions from photon conversions and from light hadron decays, mainly Dalitz decays of pi0 and eta mesons, were removed. The resulting nonphotonic electron spectra are primarily due to the semileptonic decays of hadrons carrying heavy quarks. Nuclear modification factors were determined by comparison to nonphotonic electrons in p+p collisions. A significant suppression of electrons at high pT is observed in central Au+Au collisions, indicating substantial energy loss of heavy quarks.