Open charm measurements at STAR

We report on the measurements of D⁰ meson production via direct reconstruction through the hadronic decay channel D⁰→Kπ in minimum bias d+Au and Au+Au collisions at with p_T up to ∼3 GeV/c. We derive the charm production total cross-section per nucleon–nucleon collision from a combination of three measurements: the D⁰ meson spectra, the non-photonic electron spectra from charm semi-leptonic decays obtained in p+p, d+Au, and Au+Au collisions, and the charm-decayed single muon (prompt muon) spectra at low p_T in Au+Au collisions. The cross-section is found to follow binary scaling, which is a signature of charm production exclusively at the initial impact. The implications of charm quark energy-loss and thermalization in the strongly interacting matter are discussed. PACS 25.75.Dw; 13.20.Fc; 13.25.Ft; 24.85.+p     

Heavy flavor production in PHENIX

The PHENIX experiment at RHIC measured single electron spectra in p + p, d + Au and Au + Au collisions at GeV, and in Au + Au collisions at GeV. In these spectra, electrons from semi-leptonic decays of charmed particles are the dominant contribution after subtraction of all 'photonic' sources (photon conversions, Dalitz decays, decays of light vector mesons). The p + p open charm production cross-section is found to be in good agreement with pQCD NLO calculations. The shape of the distributions obtained for p + p interactions is compared with those observed for nucleus-nucleus collisions. From p + p to d + Au and Au + Au interactions, open charm production is found to scale with the number of binary collisions . Au + Au data at GeV is compatible with the ISR p + p results scaled by . The elliptic flow parameter v₂ of heavy flavor electrons has also been measured, and is found to be non-zero in the intermediate p_T range. Arrival of the final proofs: 29 June 2005 PACS: . ^* Deceased Spokesperson     

Suppression of high-pT non-photonic electrons in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ =200 GeV

The strong suppression of high p_T hadrons observed at RHIC has led to the interpretation that energetic partons lose their energy via induced gluon radiation in the hot and dense matter before fragmenting into hadrons. The study of heavy quark production can extend our understanding of this scenario. Due to the dead cone effect, the suppression of heavy quark mesons at high p_T is expected to be smaller than that observed for charged hadrons at the same energy. The measurement of non-photonic single electrons up to high p_T provides information on charm and beauty production. The semi-leptonic decays of D and B mesons are the dominant contribution to the non-photonic electron spectra. The preliminary spectra from p+p, d+Au and Au+Au collisions at  =200 GeV have been extracted for mid-rapidity non-photonic electrons in the range 1.5<p_T (GeV/c)<10. The corresponding nuclear modification factors (R_AA) are presented and show a large suppression in central Au+Au collisions, indicating an unexpectedly large energy loss for heavy quarks in the hot and dense matter created at RHIC. This observed suppression is compared to recent theoretical models. PACS  13.85.Qk; 13.20.Fc; 13.20.He; 25.75.Dw     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Test of quantum mechanics by neutron interferometry

Measurements of the π⁰ and direct photon nuclear modification factors in p+p and A+A collisions in the PHENIX experiment at RHIC will be reviewed and recent results at  GeV will be presented. Using for the first time the p+p reference measured in the same experiment instead of averaging world data the π⁰ suppression turns out to be almost as large at  GeV as at  GeV, implying gluon densities dN^g/dy>800. Possible origins of photon suppression at high p_T in  GeV are discussed in light of the new results on photon R_AA at  GeV.     

Direct photons in d+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ =200 GeV with STAR

Results are presented of an ongoing analysis of direct photon production in  =200 GeV deuteron-gold collisions (d+Au) with the STAR experiment at RHIC. A significant excess of direct photons is observed near mid-rapidity (0<y<1) and found to be consistent with next-to-leading order pQCD calculations including the contribution from fragmentation photons. PACS  25.75.-q     

Investigation of the high-p<Subscript>T</Subscript> strange baryon anomalies at RHIC

Results from RHIC have shown that there is an enhanced baryon/meson ratio in the intermediate transverse momentum range (2<p_T<6 GeV/c) in Au+Au collisions at both  =130 and 200 GeV. This was initially demonstrated by measurements of the p̄/π^- ratio which was then extended in p_T by the Λ/K⁰ _S ratio. The data were successfully described by models utilising different hadronization mechanisms: those having recombination of quarks and others having an interplay between flow, jet quenching and incorporating baryon junction loops. The strange particle data from the first Au+Au run at  =200 GeV gave tantalising hints that the observed enhancement of baryons compared to mesons was diminished by a p_T of 6 GeV/c, but a lack of statistics in this range made a definitive statement impossible. Here we present an extended analysis of identified strange baryons and mesons in Au+Au collisions at  =200 GeV using data obtained by the STAR experiment from the 2004 running period. The increase in statistics extends the measurement of Λ hyperons out to at least 7 GeV/c and K⁰ _S mesons out to 9 GeV/c. This data allows us to place limits on the range where in-vacuum fragmentation functions are applicable and the effect of baryon dominance is reduced. We also discuss the prospects for making these measurements using multiply-strange baryons and mesons (Ω and ϕ).     

Azimuthal anisotropy of electrons from heavy flavor decays in \sqrt{s_{NN}} =200 GeV Au-Au collisions at PHENIX

The PHENIX experiment has measured the azimuthal anisotropy parameter v₂, the second harmonic of the azimuthal distribution, for electrons at mid-rapidity (|η|<0.35) as a function of transverse momentum (0.5<p_T (GeV/c)<5.0) in Au+Au collisions at  =200 GeV. From the result we have calculated the non-photonic electron v₂, which is expected to reflect charm quark azimuthal anisotropy, by subtracting the v₂ of electrons from other sources such as photon conversions and Dalitz decays.     

Di-jet production in γ γ collisions at LEP2

The production of two high-p _T jets in the interactions of quasi-real photons in e ⁺ e ⁻ collisions at from 189 GeV to 209 GeV is studied with data corresponding to an integrated e ⁺ e ⁻ luminosity of 550 pb⁻¹. The jets reconstructed by the k _⊥ -cluster algorithm are defined within the pseudo-rapidity range −1<η<1 and with jet transverse momentum, p _T , above 3 GeV/c. The differential di-jet cross-section is measured as a function of the mean transverse momentum of the jets and is compared to perturbative QCD calculations. Deceased     

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.     

Open charm production at RHIC: Recent results from STAR

We report recent measurements on the open charm production in d+Au and p+p collisions at $\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 200$ GeV from the STAR detector at RHIC. The two independent measurements — direct open charm hadron (D⁰, D^* etc.) reconstruction and non-photonic single electron spectrum — provide consistent results. The mid-rapidity charm differential cross section per nucleon-nucleon collision from d+Au collisions at RHIC is $d\sigma _{c\bar c}^{NN} /dy = 0.30 \pm 0.04(stat.) \pm 0.09(syst.)$ mb, which is higher than predictions from most of the NLO pQCD calculations. Implications for charmonium production in Au+Au collisions will also be discussed.     

What can we learn from high-p<Subscript>T</Subscript> correlations of neutral strange baryons and mesons at RHIC?

We present results on two-particle azimuthal correlations of neutral strange baryons (Λ, Λ̄) and mesons (K_S ⁰) for p_T=2–6 GeV/c associated with non-identified charged particles in d+Au and Au+Au collisions at  =200 GeV measured by the STAR experiment. We investigate in detail the associated yield of charged particles as a function centrality of the collision and transverse momentum of trigger and associated particles to look for possible flavor, baryon/meson and particle/anti-particle differences. We compare our results to the proton and pion triggered correlations as well as to a fragmentation and recombination model. PACS 25.75.-q; 25.75.Gz     

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.     

Open heavy flavor production from single muons in PHENIX at RHIC

The PHENIX experiment has studied open heavy flavor production in  =200 GeV p+p and d+Au collisions using the semi-leptonic decay into single muons. The results from these measurements and the details of the analysis technique are presented. The results from p+p collisions obtained at mid-rapidity are compared to perturbative QCD calculations. The production of light mesons is the major background source for the open flavor measurement using muons. The nuclear modification factor for light mesons were measured in Cu+Cu collisions at  =200 GeV is presented.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">J</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">ψ</Emphasis> suppression and <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis></Subscript> spectra in RHIC and LHC energy collisions

In a hydrodynamic model, we have studied J/ψ production in Au+Au/Cu+Cu collisions at RHIC energy, GeV. At the initial time, J/ψ’s are randomly distributed in the fluid. As the fluid evolves in time, the free streaming J/ψ’s are dissolved if the local fluid temperature exceeds a threshold temperature T _J/ψ . Sequential melting of charmonium states (χ _c , ψ ^′ and J/ψ), with melting temperatures , T _J/ψ ≈2T _c and feed-down fraction F≈0.3, explains the PHENIX data on the centrality dependence of J/ψ suppression in Au+Au collisions. J/ψ p _T spectra and the nuclear modification factor in Au+Au collisions are also well explained in the model. The model however overpredicts the centrality dependence of J/ψ suppression in Cu+Cu collisions by 20–30%. The J/ψ p _T spectra are underpredicted by 20–30%. The model predicts that in central Pb+Pb collisions at LHC energy,  GeV, J/ψ’s are suppressed by a factor of ∼10. The model predicted a J/ψ p _T distribution in Pb+Pb collisions at LHC is similar to that in Au+Au collisions at RHIC.     

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.     

Identified hadron production at high transverse momenta in p+ p collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV in STAR

We report the transverse momentum (p _T ) distributions for identified charged pions, protons and anti-protons using events triggered by high deposit energy in the Barrel Electro-Magnetic Calorimeter (BEMC) from p+p collisions at  GeV. The spectra are measured around mid-rapidity (|y|<0.5) over the range of 3<p _T <15 GeV/c with particle identification (PID) by the relativistic ionization energy loss (rdE/dx) in the Time Projection Chamber (TPC) of the Solenoidal Tracker at RHIC (STAR). The charged pion, proton and anti-proton spectra at high p _T are compared with published results from minimum bias triggered events and the Next-Leading-Order perturbative quantum chromodynamic (NLO pQCD) calculations (DSS, KKP and AKK 2008). In addition, we present the particle ratios of π ⁻/π ⁺, , p/π ⁺ and in p+p collisions.     

Jet properties from two-particle azimuthal correlations in d+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ =200 GeV at STAR

We present measurements of azimuthal correlations between photons (from π⁰ decay) and charged hadrons in d+Au collisions at  =200 GeV. We use di-hadron correlations to study parton fragmentation in d+Au collisions at RHIC. Specifically, the near-side and away-side peaks of the azimuthal angular difference distribution are used to measure the root-mean-squared (RMS) fragmentation transverse momentum and the mean intrinsic parton transverse momentum . The measurements with leading photons are compared to results using leading charged particles. PACS  25.75.-q