Elliptic flow in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$ = 130 GeV

Abstract

We report the elliptic flow of charged and identified particles at mid-rapidity in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=130$ GeV using the STAR TPC at RHIC. The integrated elliptic flow signal, $v_2$, for charged particles reaches values of about 0.06, indicating a higher degree of thermalization than at lower energies. The differential elliptic flow signal, $v_2$($p_t$) up to 1.5 GeV/$c$, shows a behavior expected from hydrodynamic model calculations. Above 1.5 GeV/$c$, the data deviate from the hydro predictions; however the $v_2$($p_t$) is still large, suggesting finite asymmetry for the products of hard scattering. For the identified particles, elliptic flow as a function of $p_t$ and centrality differ significantly for particles of different masses. This dependence can be accounted for in hydrodynamic models, indicating that the system created shows a behavior consistent with collective hydrodynamical flow.