Hadron production at forward and backward rapidities in \sqrt {s_{NN} } = 200 GeV d+Au collisions

Understanding normal nuclear medium effects present in heavy ion collisions is essential for understanding the following dynamics of the high density matter produced in the collision. Asymmetric collisions, such as deuteron + gold, provide a key tool for studying these effects since particles produced in the forward and backward directions may be subject to different phenomena. Particle production has been studied in d+Au collisions for various kinematic regions at the RHIC facility. PHENIX has measured charged hadron production as a function of pT for different centrality classes using the PHENIX muon spectrometers for d+Au collisions at $\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 200$ GeV. The PHENIX muon spectrometers have coverage in both forward and backward directions in the rapidity range 1.2 |η| < 2.4. The R _cp measurement, the ratio of central to peripheral production, is presented and discussed. Comparisons are also made with some relevant theoretical calculations.