arXiv subjects

STAR Collaboration

Publications and source records attributed to STAR Collaboration.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Measurements of jet quenching with semi-inclusive hadron+jet distributions in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV

The STAR Collaboration reports the measurement of semi-inclusive distributions of charged-particle jets recoiling from a high transverse momentum hadron trigger, in central and peripheral Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV. Charged jets are reconstructed with the anti-kT algorithm for jet radii R between 0.2 and 0.5 and with low infrared cutoff of track constituents ($p_T>0.2$ GeV/c). A novel mixed-event technique is used to correct the large uncorrelated background present in heavy ion collisions. Corrected recoil jet distributions are reported at mid-rapidity, for charged-jet transverse momentum $p_T^\mathrm{jet,ch}<30$ GeV/c. Comparison is made to similar measurements for Pb+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV, to calculations for p+p collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 GeV based on the PYTHIA Monte Carlo generator and on a Next-to-Leading Order perturbative QCD approach, and to theoretical calculations incorporating jet quenching. The recoil jet yield is suppressed in central relative to peripheral collisions, with the magnitude of the suppression corresponding to medium-induced charged energy transport out of the jet cone of $2.8\pm0.2\mathrm{(stat)}\pm1.5\mathrm{(sys)}$ GeV/c, for $10<p_T^\mathrm{jet,ch}<20$ GeV/c and R = 0.5. No medium-induced change in jet shape is observed for $R<0.5$. The azimuthal distribution of low-$p_T^\mathrm{jet,ch}$ recoil jets may be enhanced at large azimuthal angles to the trigger axis, due to scattering off quasi-particles in the hot QCD medium. Measurement of this distribution gives a 90% statistical confidence upper limit to the yield enhancement at large deflection angles in central Au+Au collisions of $50\pm30\mathrm{(sys)\%}$ of the large-angle yield in p+pcollisions predicted by PYTHIA.

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arXiv2017

Global $Λ$ hyperon polarization in nuclear collisions: evidence for the most vortical fluid

The extreme temperatures and energy densities generated by ultra-relativistic collisions between heavy nuclei produce a state of matter with surprising fluid properties. Non-central collisions have angular momentum on the order of 1000$\hbar$, and the resulting fluid may have a strong vortical structure that must be understood to properly describe the fluid. It is also of particular interest because the restoration of fundamental symmetries of quantum chromodynamics is expected to produce novel physical effects in the presence of strong vorticity. However, no experimental indications of fluid vorticity in heavy ion collisions have so far been found. Here we present the first measurement of an alignment between the angular momentum of a non-central collision and the spin of emitted particles, revealing that the fluid produced in heavy ion collisions is by far the most vortical system ever observed. We find that $Λ$ and $\overlineΛ$ hyperons show a positive polarization of the order of a few percent, consistent with some hydrodynamic predictions. A previous measurement that reported a null result at higher collision energies is seen to be consistent with the trend of our new observations, though with larger statistical uncertainties. These data provide the first experimental access to the vortical structure of the "perfect fluid" created in a heavy ion collision. They should prove valuable in the development of hydrodynamic models that quantitatively connect observations to the theory of the Strong Force. Our results extend the recent discovery of hydrodynamic spin alignment to the subatomic realm.

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arXiv2016

Charge-dependent directed flow in Cu+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$ = 200 GeV

We present the first measurement of charge-dependent directed flow in Cu+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$ = 200 GeV. The results are presented as a function of the particle transverse momentum and pseudorapidity for different centralities. A finite difference between the directed flow of positive and negative charged particles is observed that qualitatively agrees with the expectations from the effects of the initial strong electric field between two colliding ions with different nuclear charges. The measured difference in directed flow is much smaller than that obtained from the parton-hadron-string-dynamics (PHSD) model, which suggests that most of the electric charges, i.e. quarks and antiquarks, have not yet been created during the lifetime of the strong electric field, which is of the order of, or less than, 1fm/$c$.

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arXiv2016

Upsilon production in U+U collisions at 193 GeV with the STAR experiment

We present a measurement of the inclusive production of Upsilon mesons in U+U collisions at 193 GeV at mid-rapidity (|y| < 1). Previous studies in central Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV show a suppression of Upsilon(1S+2S+3S) production relative to expectations from the Upsilon yield in p+p collisions scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions (Ncoll), with an indication that the Upsilon(1S) state is also suppressed. The present measurement extends the number of participant nucleons in the collision (Npart) by 20% compared to Au+Au collisions, and allows us to study a system with higher energy density. We observe a suppression in both the Upsilon(1S+2S+3S) and Upsilon(1S) yields in central U+U data, which consolidates and extends the previously observed suppression trend in Au+Au collisions.

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arXiv2016

$\rm{J}/ψ$ production at low transverse momentum in p+p and d+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV

We report on the measurement of $\rm{J}/ψ$ production in the dielectron channel at mid-rapidity (|y|<1) in p+p and d+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV from the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The transverse momentum $p_{T}$ spectra in p+p for $p_{T}$ < 4 GeV/c and d+Au collisions for $p_{T}$ < 3 GeV/c are presented. These measurements extend the STAR coverage for $\rm{J}/ψ$ production in p+p collisions to low $p_{T}$. The $ $ from the measured $\rm{J}/ψ$ invariant cross section in p+p and d+Au collisions are evaluated and compared to similar measurements at other collision energies. The nuclear modification factor for $\rm{J}/ψ$ is extracted as a function of $p_{T}$ and collision centrality in d+Au and compared to model calculations using the modified nuclear Parton Distribution Function and a final-state $\rm{J}/ψ$ nuclear absorption cross section.

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arXiv2016

Di-Jet Imbalance Measurements at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200$ GeV at STAR

We report the first di-jet transverse momentum asymmetry measurements from Au+Au and p+p collisions at RHIC. The two highest-energy back-to-back jets reconstructed from fragments with transverse momenta above 2 GeV/c display a significantly stronger momentum imbalance in heavy-ion collisions than in the p+p reference. When re-examined with correlated soft particles included, we observe that these di-jets then exhibit a unique new feature -- momentum balance is restored to that observed in p+p for a jet resolution parameter of R=0.4, while re-balancing is not attained with a smaller value of R=0.2.

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arXiv2016

Near-side azimuthal and pseudorapidity correlations using neutral strange baryons and mesons in d+Au, Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV

We present measurements of the near-side of triggered di-hadron correlations using neutral strange baryons ($Λ$, $\barΛ$) and mesons ($K^0_S$) at intermediate transverse momentum (3 $<$ $p_T$ $<$ 6 GeV/$c$) to look for possible flavor and baryon/meson dependence. This study is performed in $d$+Au, Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV measured by the STAR experiment at RHIC. The near-side di-hadron correlation contains two structures, a peak which is narrow in azimuth and pseudorapidity consistent with correlations due to jet fragmentation, and a correlation in azimuth which is broad in pseudorapidity. The particle composition of the jet-like correlation is determined using identified associated particles. The dependence of the conditional yield of the jet-like correlation on the trigger particle momentum, associated particle momentum, and centrality for correlations with unidentified trigger particles are presented. The neutral strange particle composition in jet-like correlations with unidentified charged particle triggers is not well described by PYTHIA. However, the yield of unidentified particles in jet-like correlations with neutral strange particle triggers is described reasonably well by the same model.

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arXiv2016

Jet-like Correlations with Direct-Photon and Neutral-Pion Triggers at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}} = 200$ GeV

Azimuthal correlations of charged hadrons with direct-photon ($γ_{dir}$) and neutral-pion ($π^{0}$) trigger particles are analyzed in central Au+Au and minimum-bias $p+p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}} = 200$ GeV in the STAR experiment. The charged-hadron per-trigger yields at mid-rapidity from central Au+Au collisions are compared with $p+p$ collisions to quantify the suppression in Au+Au collisions. The suppression of the away-side associated-particle yields per $γ_{dir}$ trigger is independent of the transverse momentum of the trigger particle ($p_{T}^{\mathrm{trig}}$), whereas the suppression is smaller at low transverse momentum of the associated charged hadrons ($p_{T}^{\mathrm{assoc}}$). Within uncertainty, similar levels of suppression are observed for $γ_{dir}$ and $π^{0}$ triggers as a function of $z_{T}$ ($\equiv p_T^{\mathrm{assoc}}/p_T^{\mathrm{trig}}$). The results are compared with energy-loss-inspired theoretical model predictions. Our studies support previous conclusions that the lost energy reappears predominantly at low transverse momentum, regardless of the trigger energy.

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arXiv2016

Measurement of the transverse single-spin asymmetry in $p^\uparrow+p \to W^{\pm}/Z^0$ at RHIC

We present the measurement of the transverse single-spin asymmetry of weak boson production in transversely polarized proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 500~\text{GeV}$ by the STAR experiment at RHIC. The measured observable is sensitive to the Sivers function, one of the transverse momentum dependent parton distribution functions, which is predicted to have the opposite sign in proton-proton collisions from that observed in deep inelastic lepton-proton scattering. These data provide the first experimental investigation of the non-universality of the Sivers function, fundamental to our understanding of QCD.

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arXiv2016

The $ϕ(1020)\rightarrow e^{+}e^{-}$ meson decay measured with the STAR experiment in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$ = 200 GeV

We report the measurement of the leptonic ($e^{+}e^{-}$) decay channel of the $ϕ$(1020) meson in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$ = 200 GeV by the STAR experiment. The transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) spectrum is measured for 0.1 $\le p_{\rm T} \le 2.5$ GeV/$c$ at mid-rapidity ($|y|\le1$). We obtain the $p_{\rm T}$-integrated $ϕ$(1020) mass $M_ϕ=1017.7\pm0.8 (\rm {stat.}) \pm0.9 (\rm {sys.})$ MeV/$c^{2}$ and width $Γ_ϕ = 8.0\pm 2.5(\rm {stat.}) \pm 2.3(\rm {sys.}) \textrm{MeV/}c^{2}$, which are within 1.5\,$σ$ and 1.1\,$σ$ of the vacuum values, respectively. No significant difference is observed in the measured $p_{\rm T}$ spectrum, $dN/dy$, or $\left $ of the $ϕ$(1020) meson between the $e^{+}e^{-}$ and hadronic ($K^{+}K^{-}$) decay channels as measured by the same experiment. The experimental results are compared to a theoretical model including medium-modified $ϕ$(1020).

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arXiv2016

Measurement of elliptic flow of light nuclei at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200, 62.4, 39, 27, 19.6, 11.5, and 7.7 GeV at RHIC

We present measurements of 2$^{nd}$ order azimuthal anisotropy ($v_{2}$) at mid-rapidity $(|y|<1.0)$ for light nuclei d, t, $^{3}$He (for $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200, 62.4, 39, 27, 19.6, 11.5, and 7.7 GeV) and anti-nuclei $\bar{\rm d}$ ($\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200, 62.4, 39, 27, and 19.6 GeV) and $^{3}\bar{\rm He}$ ($\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV) in the STAR (Solenoidal Tracker at RHIC) experiment. The $v_{2}$ for these light nuclei produced in heavy-ion collisions is compared with those for p and $\bar{\rm p}$. We observe mass ordering in nuclei $v_{2}(p_{T})$ at low transverse momenta ($p_{T}<2.0$ GeV/$c$). We also find a centrality dependence of $v_{2}$ for d and $\bar{\rm d}$. The magnitude of $v_{2}$ for t and $^{3}$He agree within statistical errors. Light-nuclei $v_{2}$ are compared with predictions from a blast wave model. Atomic mass number ($A$) scaling of light-nuclei $v_{2}(p_{T})$ seems to hold for $p_{T}/A < 1.5$ GeV/$c$. Results on light-nuclei $v_{2}$ from a transport-plus-coalescence model are consistent with the experimental measurements.

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arXiv2016

Centrality and transverse momentum dependence of elliptic flow of multi-strange hadrons and $ϕ$ meson in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV

We present high precision measurements of elliptic flow near midrapidity ($|y|<1.0$) for multi-strange hadrons and $ϕ$ meson as a function of centrality and transverse momentum in Au+Au collisions at center of mass energy $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=$ 200 GeV. We observe that the transverse momentum dependence of $ϕ$ and $Ω$ $v_{2}$ is similar to that of $π$ and $p$, respectively, which may indicate that the heavier strange quark flows as strongly as the lighter up and down quarks. This observation constitutes a clear piece of evidence for the development of partonic collectivity in heavy-ion collisions at the top RHIC energy. Number of constituent quark scaling is found to hold within statistical uncertainty for both 0-30$\%$ and 30-80$\%$ collision centrality. There is an indication of the breakdown of previously observed mass ordering between $ϕ$ and proton $v_{2}$ at low transverse momentum in the 0-30$\%$ centrality range, possibly indicating late hadronic interactions affecting the proton $v_{2}$.

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arXiv2016

Beam Energy Dependence of the Third Harmonic of Azimuthal Correlations in Au+Au Collisions at RHIC

We present results from a harmonic decomposition of two-particle azimuthal correlations measured with the STAR detector in Au+Au collisions for energies ranging from $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=7.7$ GeV to 200 GeV. The third harmonic $v_3^2\{2\}=\langle \cos3(ϕ_1-ϕ_2)\rangle$, where $ϕ_1-ϕ_2$ is the angular difference in azimuth, is studied as a function of the pseudorapidity difference between particle pairs $Δη= η_1-η_2$. Non-zero {\vthree} is directly related to the previously observed large-$Δη$ narrow-$Δϕ$ ridge correlations and has been shown in models to be sensitive to the existence of a low viscosity Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) phase. For sufficiently central collisions, $v_3^2\{2\}$ persist down to an energy of 7.7 GeV suggesting that QGP may be created even in these low energy collisions. In peripheral collisions at these low energies however, $v_3^2\{2\}$ is consistent with zero. When scaled by pseudorapidity density of charged particle multiplicity per participating nucleon pair, $v_3^2\{2\}$ for central collisions shows a minimum near {\snn}$=20$ GeV.

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arXiv2016

Centrality dependence of identified particle elliptic flow in relativistic heavy ion collisions at sqrt(s)= 7.7--62.4 GeV

Elliptic flow (v_2) values for identified particles at midrapidity in Au + Au collisions measured by the STAR experiment in the Beam Energy Scan at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at sqrt{s_{NN}}= 7.7--62.4 GeV are presented for three centrality classes. The centrality dependence and the data at sqrt{s_{NN}}= 14.5 GeV are new. Except at the lowest beam energies we observe a similar relative v_2 baryon-meson splitting for all centrality classes which is in agreement within 15% with the number-of-constituent quark scaling. The larger v_2 for most particles relative to antiparticles, already observed for minimum bias collisions, shows a clear centrality dependence, with the largest difference for the most central collisions. Also, the results are compared with A Multiphase Transport Model and fit with a Blast Wave model.

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arXiv2015

Status and prospects of Di-jet production in high-energy polarized proton-proton collisions at RHIC at s**(1/2) = 200-GeV

The STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is carrying out a spin physics program colliding transversely or longitudinally polarized proton beams at = 200-500 GeV to gain deeper insigh t into the spin structure and dynamics of the proton. These studies provide fundamental insight into Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). One of the main objectives is the determination of the polarized gluon distribution function, g, through the measurement of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry, ALL, for various processes. Inclusive hadron and jet production from polarized pp collision data collected so far at = 200 GeV using the STAR detector at RHIC have placed important constraints on g. Di-jet producti on provides direct access to the initial parton kinematics at leading order (LO) QCD and thus provides sensitivity to the Bjorken-x dependence of g. The status of the mid-rapidity di-jet cross section analysis from the 2005 RHIC run and the longitudinal d ouble-spin asymmetry at mid-rapidity for the 2006 data sample are discussed in these proceedings. Projections on future di-jet measurements at STAR are provided.

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arXiv2015

Azimuthal anisotropy in U+U and Au+Au collisions at RHIC

Collisions between prolate uranium nuclei are used to study how particle production and azimuthal anisotropies depend on initial geometry in heavy-ion collisions. We report the two- and four-particle cumulants, $v_2\{2\}$ and $v_2\{4\}$, for charged hadrons from U+U collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 193 GeV and Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 200 GeV. Nearly fully overlapping collisions are selected based on the amount of energy deposited by spectators in the STAR Zero Degree Calorimeters (ZDCs). Within this sample, the observed dependence of $v_2\{2\}$ on multiplicity demonstrates that ZDC information combined with multiplicity can preferentially select different overlap configurations in U+U collisions. An initial-state model with gluon saturation describes the slope of $v_2\{2\}$ as a function of multiplicity in central collisions better than one based on Glauber with a two-component multiplicity model.

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arXiv2015

Di-Hadron Correlations with Identified Leading Hadrons in 200 GeV Au+Au and d+Au Collisions at STAR

The STAR collaboration presents for the first time two-dimensional di-hadron correlations with identified leading hadrons in 200 GeV central Au+Au and minimum-bias d+Au collisions to explore hadronization mechanisms in the quark gluon plasma. The enhancement of the jet-like yield for leading pions in Au+Au data with respect to the d+Au reference and the absence of such an enhancement for leading non-pions (protons and kaons) are discussed within the context of a quark recombination scenario. The correlated yield at large angles, specifically in the \emph{ridge region}, is found to be significantly higher for leading non-pions than pions. The consistencies of the constituent quark scaling, azimuthal harmonic model and a mini-jet modification model description of the data are tested, providing further constraints on hadronization.

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arXiv2015

Energy dependence of acceptance-corrected dielectron excess mass spectrum at mid-rapidity in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 19.6$ and 200 GeV

The acceptance-corrected dielectron excess mass spectra, where the known hadronic sources have been subtracted from the inclusive dielectron mass spectra, are reported for the first time at mid-rapidity $|y_{ee}|<1$ in minimum-bias Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 19.6 and 200 GeV. The excess mass spectra are consistently described by a model calculation with a broadened $ρ$ spectral function for $M_{ee}<1.1$ GeV/$c^{2}$. The integrated dielectron excess yield at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 19.6 GeV for $0.4<M_{ee}<0.75$ GeV/$c^2$, normalized to the charged particle multiplicity at mid-rapidity, has a value similar to that in In+In collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 17.3 GeV. For $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV, the normalized excess yield in central collisions is higher than that at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 17.3 GeV and increases from peripheral to central collisions. These measurements indicate that the lifetime of the hot, dense medium created in central Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV is longer than those in peripheral collisions and at lower energies.

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