arXiv subjects

F. Atetalla

Publications and source records attributed to F. Atetalla.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Low-$p_T$ $e^{+}e^{-}$ pair production in Au$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV and U$+$U collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 193 GeV at STAR

We report first measurements of $e^{+}e^{-}$ pair production in the mass region 0.4 $<M_{ee}<$ 2.6 GeV/$c^{2}$ at low transverse momentum ($p_T<$ 0.15 GeV/$c$) in non-central Au$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV and U$+$U collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 193 GeV. Significant enhancement factors, expressed as ratios of data over known hadronic contributions, are observed in the 40-80% centrality of these collisions. The excess yields peak distinctly at low-$p_T$ with a width ($\sqrt{\langle p^2_T\rangle}$) between 40 to 60 MeV/$c$. The absolute cross section of the excess depends weakly on centrality while those from a theoretical model calculation incorporating an in-medium broadened $ρ$ spectral function and radiation from a Quark Gluon Plasma or hadronic cocktail contributions increase dramatically with increasing number of participant nucleons. Model calculations of photon-photon interactions generated by the initial projectile and target nuclei describe the observed excess yields but fail to reproduce the $p^{2}_{T}$ distributions.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2018

Global polarization of $Λ$ hyperons in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$ = 200 GeV

Global polarization of $Λ$ hyperons has been measured to be of the order of a few tenths of a percent in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$ = 200 GeV, with no significant difference between $Λ$ and $\barΛ$. These new results reveal the collision energy dependence of the global polarization together with the results previously observed at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$ = 7.7 -- 62.4 GeV and indicate noticeable vorticity of the medium created in non-central heavy-ion collisions at the highest RHIC collision energy. The signal is in rough quantitative agreement with the theoretical predictions from a hydrodynamic model and from the AMPT (A Multi-Phase Transport) model. The polarization is larger in more peripheral collisions, and depends weakly on the hyperon's transverse momentum and pseudorapidity $η^H$ within $|η^H|<1$. An indication of the polarization dependence on the event-by-event charge asymmetry is observed at the $2σ$ level, suggesting a possible contribution to the polarization from the axial current induced by the initial magnetic field.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2018

Correlation Measurements Between Flow Harmonics in Au+Au Collisions at RHIC

Flow harmonics ($v_n$) in the Fourier expansion of the azimuthal distribution of particles are widely used to quantify the anisotropy in particle emission in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. The symmetric cumulants, $SC(m,n)$, are used to measure the correlations between different orders of flow harmonics. These correlations are used to constrain the initial conditions and the transport properties of the medium in theoretical models. In this Letter, we present the first measurements of the four-particle symmetric cumulants in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 39 and 200 GeV from data collected by the STAR experiment at RHIC. We observe that $v_{2}$ and $v_{3}$ are anti-correlated in all centrality intervals with similar correlation strengths from 39 GeV Au+Au to 2.76 TeV Pb+Pb (measured by the ALICE experiment). The $v_{2}$-$v_{4}$ correlation seems to be stronger at 39 GeV than at higher collision energies. The initial-stage anti-correlations between second and third order eccentricities are sufficient to describe the measured correlations between $v_{2}$ and $v_{3}$. The best description of $v_{2}$-$v_{4}$ correlations at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV is obtained with inclusion of the system's nonlinear response to initial eccentricities accompanied by the viscous effect with $η/s$ $>$ 0.08. Theoretical calculations using different initial conditions, equations of state and viscous coefficients need to be further explored to extract $η/s$ of the medium created at RHIC.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2018

Longitudinal Double-Spin Asymmetries for Dijet Production at Intermediate Pseudorapidity in Polarized $pp$ Collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 GeV

We present the first measurements of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry $A_{LL}$ for dijets with at least one jet reconstructed within the pseudorapidity range $0.8 < η< 1.8$. The dijets were measured in polarized $pp$ collisions at a center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 GeV. Values for $A_{LL}$ are determined for several distinct event topologies, defined by the jet pseudorapidities, and span a range of parton momentum fraction $x$ down to $x \sim$ 0.01. The measured asymmetries are found to be consistent with the predictions of global analyses that incorporate the results of previous RHIC measurements. They will provide new constraints on $Δg(x)$ in this poorly constrained region when included in future global analyses.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2018

Longitudinal Double-Spin Asymmetries for $π^{0}$s in the Forward Direction for 510 GeV Polarized $pp$ Collisions

The STAR Collaboration reports measurements of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry, $A_{LL}$, for neutral pions produced at forward directions in polarized proton-proton collisions, at a center-of-mass energy of $510$ GeV. Results are given for transverse momenta in the range $2<p_{T}<10$ GeV/$c$ within two regions of pseudorapidity that span $2.65<η<3.9$. These results are sensitive to the polarized gluon parton distribution function, $Δg(x)$, down to the region of Bjorken $x \sim 10^{-3}$. The asymmetries observed are less than $\pm 5 \cdot 10^{-3}$ in magnitude, and will help constrain the contribution to the spin of the proton from polarized gluons at low $x$, when combined with other measurements as part of a global analysis.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2018

Beam energy dependence of rapidity-even dipolar flow in Au+Au collisions

New measurements of directed flow for charged hadrons, characterized by the Fourier coefficient \vone, are presented for transverse momenta $\mathrm{p_T}$, and centrality intervals in Au+Au collisions recorded by the STAR experiment for the center-of-mass energy range $\mathrm{\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}} = 7.7 - 200$ GeV. The measurements underscore the importance of momentum conservation and the characteristic dependencies on $\mathrm{\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}}$, centrality and $\mathrm{p_T}$ are consistent with the expectations of geometric fluctuations generated in the initial stages of the collision, acting in concert with a hydrodynamic-like expansion. The centrality and $\mathrm{p_T}$ dependencies of $\mathrm{v^{even}_{1}}$, as well as an observed similarity between its excitation function and that for $\mathrm{v_3}$, could serve as constraints for initial-state models. The $\mathrm{v^{even}_{1}}$ excitation function could also provide an important supplement to the flow measurements employed for precision extraction of the temperature dependence of the specific shear viscosity.

nucl-ex↗