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Using the NA49 main TPC, the central production of hyperons has been measured in CERN SPS Pb - Pb collisions at 158 GeV c-1. The preliminary ratio, studied at 2.0 < y < 2.6 and 1 < pT < 3 GeV c-1, equals ~ (13 ± 4)% (systematic error only). It is compatible, within errors, with the previously obtained ratios for central S + S [1], S + W [2], and S + Au [3] collisions. The fit to the transverse momentum distribution resulted in an inverse slope parameter T of 297 MeV. At this level of statistics we do not see any noticeable enhancement of hyperon production with the increased volume (and, possibly, degree of equilibration) of the system from S + S to Pb + Pb. This result is unexpected and counterintuitive, and should be further investigated. If confirmed, it will have a significant impact on our understanding of mechanisms leading to the enhanced strangeness production in heavy-ion collisions.
Preliminary data on phi production in central Pb + Pb collisions at 158 GeV per nucleon are presented, measured by the NA49 experiment in the hadronic decay channel phi - K+K-. At mid-rapidity, the kaons were separated from pions and protons by combining dE/dx and time-of-flight information; in the forward rapidity range only dE/dx identification was used to obtain the rapidity distribution and a rapidity-integrated mt-spectrum. The mid-rapidity yield obtained was dN/dy = 1.85 ± 0.3 per event; the total phi multiplicity was estimated to be 5.0 ± 0.7 per event. Comparison with published pp data shows a slight, but not very significant strangeness enhancement.
Lambda and Antilambda reconstruction in central Pb+Pb collisions using a time projection chamber
(1997)
The large acceptance time projection chambers of the NA49 experiment are used to record the trajectory of charged particles from Pb + Pb collisions at 158 GeV per nucleon. Neutral strange hadrons have been reconstructed from their charged decay products. To obtain distributions of Λ, and Ks0 in discrete bins of rapidity, y, and transverse momentum, pT, calculations have been performed to determine the acceptance of the detector and the efficiency of the reconstruction software as a function of both variables. The lifetime distributions obtained give values of cτ = 7.8 ± 0.6 cm for Λ and cτ = 2.5 ± 0.3 cm for Ks0, consistent with data book values.
J/ψ suppression has long been considered a sensitive signature of the formation of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. In this letter, we present the first measurement of inclusive J/ψ production at mid-rapidity through the dimuon decay channel in Au+Au collisions at √sNN = 200 GeV with the STAR experiment. These measurements became possible after the installation of the Muon Telescope Detector was completed in 2014. The J/ψ yields are measured in a wide transverse momentum (pT) range of 0.15 GeV/c to 12 GeV/c from central to peripheral collisions. They extend the kinematic reach of previous measurements at RHIC with improved precision. In the 0-10% most central collisions, the J/ψ yield is suppressed by a factor of approximately 3 for pT > 5 GeV/c relative to that in p + p collisions scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions. The J/ψ nuclear modification factor displays little dependence on pT in all centrality bins. Model calculations can qualitatively describe the data, providing further evidence for the color-screening effect experienced by J/ψ mesons in the QGP.
Morgan Tsvangirais appointment as Zimbabwes Prime Minister in 2009 followed many years leadership of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trades Unions and the Movement for Democratic Change. How has that experience equipped him for high national office? Does he have the personal, intellectual and political qualities required to be President? In July 2004, as he was awaiting the verdict in his treason trial, Tsvangirai spent several days in conversation with Stephen Chan. Chan was concerned to find out if Tsvangirai was more than merely a charismatic leader of the opposition; if he had his own intellectual agenda [and] political philosophy. His questions were even-handed and astute. Discussion by discussion, Morgan Tsvangirai had become more open, more human less cautious and, paradoxically, more obviously and naturally presidential. Five years later, having reviewed the events since their discussions took place, Chan writes: I have not made a saint of him, not even an Atlas. I hope I have not criticized him too much or too unfairly. Probably no one could have done for Zimbabwe what he has. Citizen of Zimbabwe is a rare and intimate portrait of political leadership in Africa.
Measurement of cold nuclear matter effects for inclusive J/ψ in p+Au collisions at √sNN = 200 GeV
(2022)
Measurement by the STAR experiment at RHIC of the cold nuclear matter (CNM) effects experienced by inclusive J/ψ at mid-rapidity in 0-100% p+Au collisions at √sNN = 200 GeV is presented. Such effects are quantified utilizing the nuclear modification factor, RpAu, obtained by taking a ratio of J/ψ yield in p+Au collisions to that in p+p collisions scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions. The differential J/ψ yield in both p+p and p+Au collisions is measured through the dimuon decay channel, taking advantage of the trigger capability provided by the Muon Telescope Detector in the RHIC 2015 run. Consequently, the J/ψ RpAu is derived within the transverse momentum (pT) range of 0 to 10 GeV/c. A suppression of approximately 30% is observed for pT < 2 GeV/c, while J/ψ RpAu becomes compatible with unity for pT greater than 3 GeV/c, indicating the J/ψ yield is minimally affected by the CNM effects at high pT. Comparison to a similar measurement from 0-20% central Au+Au collisions reveals that the observed strong J/ψ suppression above 3 GeV/c is mostly due to the hot medium effects, providing strong evidence for the formation of the quark-gluon plasma in these collisions. Several model calculations show qualitative agreement with the measured J/ψ RpAu, while their agreement with the J/ψ yields in p+p and p+Au collisions is worse.
We report on the measurements of directed flow v1 and elliptic flow v2 for hadrons (π±, K ±, K0 S , p, φ, Λ and ) from Au+Au collisions at √sN N = 3 GeV and v2 for (π±, K ±, p and p) at 27 and 54.4 GeV with the STAR experiment. While at the two higher energy midcentral collisions the numberof-constituent-quark (NCQ) scaling holds, at 3 GeV the v2 at midrapidity is negative for all hadrons and the NCQ scaling is absent. In addition, the v1 slopes at midrapidity for almost all observed hadrons are found to be positive, implying dominant repulsive baryonic interactions. The features of negative v2 and positive v1 slope at 3 GeV can be reproduced with a baryonic mean-field in transport model calculations. These results imply that the medium in such collisions is likely characterized by baryonic interactions.
In high-energy heavy-ion collisions, partonic collectivity is evidenced by the constituent quark number scaling of elliptic flow anisotropy for identified hadrons. A breaking of this scaling and dominance of baryonic interactions is found for identified hadron collective flow measurements in √sNN = 3 GeV Au+Au collisions. In this paper, we report measurements of the first- and second-order azimuthal anisotropic parameters, v1 and v2, of light nuclei (d, t, 3He, 4He) produced in √sNN = 3 GeV Au+Au collisions at the STAR experiment. An atomic mass number scaling is found in the measured v1 slopes of light nuclei at mid-rapidity. For the measured v2 magnitude, a strong rapidity dependence is observed. Unlike v2 at higher collision energies, the v2 values at mid-rapidity for all light nuclei are negative and no scaling is observed with the atomic mass number. Calculations by the Jet AA Microscopic Transport Model (JAM), with baryonic mean-field plus nucleon coalescence, are in good agreement with our observations, implying baryonic interactions dominate the collective dynamics in 3 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC.
Investigation of the linear and mode-coupled flow harmonics in Au+Au collisions at √sNN = 200 GeV
(2020)
Flow harmonics (vn) of the Fourier expansion for the azimuthal distributions of hadrons are commonly employed to quantify the azimuthal anisotropy of particle production relative to the collision symmetry planes. While lower order Fourier coefficients (v2 and v3) are more directly related to the corresponding eccentricities of the initial state, the higher-order flow harmonics (vn>3) can be induced by a modecoupled response to the lower-order anisotropies, in addition to a linear response to the same-order anisotropies. These higher-order flow harmonics and their linear and mode-coupled contributions can be used to more precisely constrain the initial conditions and the transport properties of the medium in theoretical models. The multiparticle azimuthal cumulant method is used to measure the linear and mode-coupled contributions in the higher-order anisotropic flow, the mode-coupled response coefficients, and the correlations of the event plane angles for charged particles as functions of centrality and transverse momentum in Au+Au collisions at nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy √sN N= 200 GeV. The results are compared to similar LHC measurements as well as to several viscous hydrodynamic calculations with varying initial conditions.
Measurement of groomed jet substructure observables in p+p collisions at √s = 200 GeV with STAR
(2020)
In this letter, measurements of the shared momentum fraction (zg) and the groomed jet radius (Rg), as defined in the SoftDrop algorithm, are reported in p+p collisions at √s = 200 GeV collected by the STAR experiment. These substructure observables are differentially measured for jets of varying resolution parameters from R = 0.2 − 0.6 in the transverse momentum range 15 < pT,jet < 60 GeV/c. These studies show that, in the pT,jet range accessible at √s = 200 GeV and with increasing jet resolution parameter and jet transverse momentum, the zg distribution asymptotically converges to the DGLAP splitting kernel for a quark radiating a gluon. The groomed jet radius measurements reflect a momentum-dependent narrowing of the jet structure for jets of a given resolution parameter, i.e., the larger the pT,jet, the narrower the first splitting. For the first time, these fully corrected measurements are compared to Monte Carlo generators with leading order QCD matrix elements and leading log in the parton shower, and to state-of-the-art theoretical calculations at next-to-leading-log accuracy. We observe that PYTHIA 6 with parameters tuned to reproduce RHIC measurements is able to quantitatively describe data, whereas PYTHIA 8 and HERWIG 7, tuned to reproduce LHC data, are unable to provide a simultaneous description of both zg and Rg, resulting in opportunities for fine parameter tuning of these models for p+p collisions at RHIC energies. We also find that the theoretical calculations without non-perturbative corrections are able to qualitatively describe the trend in data for jets of large resolution parameters at high pT,jet, but fail at small jet resolution parameters and low jet transverse momenta.
Quark interactions with topological gluon configurations can induce chirality imbalance and local parity violation in quantum chromodynamics. This can lead to electric charge separation along the strong magnetic field in relativistic heavy-ion collisions – the chiral magnetic effect (CME). We report measurements by the STAR collaboration of a CME-sensitive observable in p + Au and d + Au collisions at 200 GeV, where the CME is not expected, using charge-dependent pair correlations relative to a third particle. We observe strong charge-dependent correlations similar to those measured in heavy-ion collisions. This bears important implications for the interpretation of the heavy-ion data.
We report results on the total and elastic cross sections in proton-proton collisions at √s = 200 GeV obtained with the Roman Pot setup of the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The elastic differential cross section was measured in the squared four-momentum transfer range 0.045 ≤ −t ≤ 0.135 GeV2. The value of the exponential slope parameter B of the elastic differential cross section dσ/dt ∼ e−Bt in the measured −t range was found to be B = 14.32 ± 0.09(stat.)+0.13 −0.28(syst.) GeV−2. The total cross section σtot, obtained from extrapolation of the dσ/dt to the optical point at −t = 0, is σtot = 54.67 ± 0.21(stat.)+1.28 −1.38(syst.) mb. We also present the values of the elastic cross section σel = 10.85 ± 0.03(stat.)+0..49 −0.41(syst.) mb, the elastic cross section integrated within the STAR t-range σ det el = 4.05 ± 0.01(stat.)+0.18−0.17(syst.) mb, and the inelastic cross section σinel = 43.82 ± 0.21(stat.)+1.37−1.44(syst.) mb. The results are compared with the world data
We report the first multi-differential measurements of strange hadrons of K −, φ and − yields as well as the ratios of φ/K − and φ/− in Au+Au collisions at √sNN = 3 GeV with the STAR experiment fixed target configuration at RHIC. The φ mesons and − hyperons are measured through hadronic decay channels, φ → K + K − and Ξ− → Λπ−. Collision centrality and rapidity dependence of the transverse momentum spectra for these strange hadrons are presented. The 4π yields and ratios are compared to thermal model and hadronic transport model predictions. At this collision energy, thermal model with grand canonical ensemble (GCE) under-predicts the φ/K − and φ/− ratios while the result of canonical ensemble (CE) calculations reproduce φ/K −, with the correlation length rc ∼ 2.7 fm, and φ/−, rc ∼ 4.2 fm, for the 0-10% central collisions. Hadronic transport models including high mass resonance decays could also describe the ratios. While thermal calculations with GCE work well for strangeness production in high energy collisions, the change to CE at 3 GeV implies a rather different medium property at high baryon density.
We report a measurement of cumulants and correlation functions of event-by-event proton multiplicity distributions from fixed-target Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√ = 3 GeV measured by the STAR experiment. Protons are identified within the rapidity (y) and transverse momentum (pT) region −0.9<y<0 and 0.4<pT<2.0 GeV/c in the center-of-mass frame. A systematic analysis of the proton cumulants and correlation functions up to sixth-order as well as the corresponding ratios as a function of the collision centrality, pT, and y are presented. The effect of pileup and initial volume fluctuations on these observables and the respective corrections are discussed in detail. The results are compared to calculations from the hadronic transport UrQMD model as well as a hydrodynamic model. In the most central 5\% collisions, the value of proton cumulant ratio C4/C2 is negative, drastically different from the values observed in Au+Au collisions at higher energies. Compared to model calculations including Lattice QCD, a hadronic transport model, and a hydrodynamic model, the strong suppression in the ratio of C4/C2 at 3 GeV Au+Au collisions indicates an energy regime dominated by hadronic interactions.
In high-energy heavy-ion collisions, partonic collectivity is evidenced by the constituent quark number scaling of elliptic flow anisotropy for identified hadrons. A breaking of this scaling and dominance of baryonic interactions is found for identified hadron collective flow measurements in sNN−−−√ = 3 GeV Au+Au collisions. In this paper, we report measurements of the first-order and second-order azimuthal anisotropic parameters, v1 and v2, of light nuclei (d, t, 3He, 4He) produced in sNN−−−√ = 3 GeV Au+Au collisions at the STAR experiment. An atomic mass number scaling is found in the measured v1 slopes of light nuclei at mid-rapidity. For the measured v2 magnitude, a strong rapidity dependence is observed. Unlike v2 at higher collision energies, the v2 values at mid-rapidity for all light nuclei are negative and no scaling is observed with the atomic mass number. Calculations by the Jet AA Microscopic Transport Model (JAM), with baryonic mean-field plus nucleon coalescence, are in good agreement with our observations, implying baryonic interactions dominate the collective dynamics in 3 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC.
We report cumulants of the proton multiplicity distribution from dedicated fixed-target Au+Au collisions at 3.0 GeV, measured by the STAR experiment in the kinematic acceptance of rapidity (y) and transverse momentum (pT) within −0.5<y<0 and 0.4<pT<2.0 GeV/c. In the most central 0--5\% collisions, a proton cumulant ratio is measured to be C4/C2=−0.85±0.09 (stat.)±0.82 (syst.), which is less than unity, the Poisson baseline. The hadronic transport UrQMD model reproduces our C4/C2 in the measured acceptance. Compared to higher energy results and the transport model calculations, the suppression in C4/C2 is consistent with fluctuations driven by baryon number conservation and indicates an energy regime dominated by hadronic interactions. These data imply that the QCD critical region, if created in heavy-ion collisions, could only exist at energies higher than 3\,GeV.
We report cumulants of the proton multiplicity distribution from dedicated fixed-target Au+Au collisions at 3.0 GeV, measured by the STAR experiment in the kinematic acceptance of rapidity (y) and transverse momentum (pT) within −0.5<y<0 and 0.4<pT<2.0 GeV/c. In the most central 0--5\% collisions, a proton cumulant ratio is measured to be C4/C2=−0.85±0.09 (stat.)±0.82 (syst.), which is less than unity, the Poisson baseline. The hadronic transport UrQMD model reproduces our C4/C2 in the measured acceptance. Compared to higher energy results and the transport model calculations, the suppression in C4/C2 is consistent with fluctuations driven by baryon number conservation and indicates an energy regime dominated by hadronic interactions. These data imply that the QCD critical region, if created in heavy-ion collisions, could only exist at energies higher than 3\,GeV.
We report cumulants of the proton multiplicity distribution from dedicated fixed-target Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√ = 3.0 GeV, measured by the STAR experiment in the kinematic acceptance of rapidity (y) and transverse momentum (pT) within −0.5<y<0 and 0.4<pT<2.0 GeV/c. In the most central 0--5\% collisions, a proton cumulant ratio is measured to be C4/C2=−0.85±0.09 (stat.)±0.82 (syst.), which is less than unity, the Poisson baseline. The hadronic transport UrQMD model reproduces our C4/C2 in the measured acceptance. Compared to higher energy results and the transport model calculations, the suppression in C4/C2 is consistent with fluctuations driven by baryon number conservation and indicates an energy regime dominated by hadronic interactions. These data imply that the QCD critical region, if created in heavy-ion collisions, could only exist at energies higher than 3\,GeV.
A linearly polarized photon can be quantized from the Lorentz-boosted electromagnetic field of a nucleus traveling at ultrarelativistic speed. When two relativistic heavy nuclei pass one another at a distance of a few nuclear radii, the photon from one nucleus may interact through a virtual quark-antiquark pair with gluons from the other nucleus, forming a short-lived vector meson (e.g., ρ0). In this experiment, the polarization was used in diffractive photoproduction to observe a unique spin interference pattern in the angular distribution of ρ0 → π+π− decays. The observed interference is a result of an overlap of two wave functions at a distance an order of magnitude larger than the ρ0 travel distance within its lifetime. The strong-interaction nuclear radii were extracted from these diffractive interactions and found to be 6.53 ± 0.06 fm (197Au) and 7.29 ± 0.08 fm (238U), larger than the nuclear charge radii. The observable is demonstrated to be sensitive to the nuclear geometry and quantum interference of nonidentical particles. Polarized photon-gluon fusion reveals quantum wave interference of non-identical particles and shape of high-energy nuclei.
The elliptic (v2) and triangular (v3) azimuthal anisotropy coefficients in central 3He+Au, d+Au, and p+Au collisions at sNN−−−√ = 200 GeV are measured as a function of transverse momentum (pT) at mid-rapidity (|η|<0.9), via the azimuthal angular correlation between two particles both at |η|<0.9. While the v2(pT) values depend on the colliding systems, the v3(pT) values are system-independent within the uncertainties, suggesting an influence on eccentricity from sub-nucleonic fluctuations in these small-sized systems. These results also provide stringent constraints for the hydrodynamic modeling of these systems.
We report the measurement of K∗0 meson at midrapidity (|y|< 1.0) in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√~=~7.7, 11.5, 14.5, 19.6, 27 and 39 GeV collected by the STAR experiment during the RHIC beam energy scan (BES) program. The transverse momentum spectra, yield, and average transverse momentum of K∗0 are presented as functions of collision centrality and beam energy. The K∗0/K yield ratios are presented for different collision centrality intervals and beam energies. The K∗0/K ratio in heavy-ion collisions are observed to be smaller than that in small system collisions (e+e and p+p). The K∗0/K ratio follows a similar centrality dependence to that observed in previous RHIC and LHC measurements. The data favor the scenario of the dominance of hadronic re-scattering over regeneration for K∗0 production in the hadronic phase of the medium.
A decisive experimental test of the Chiral Magnetic Effect (CME) is considered one of the major scientific goals at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) towards understanding the nontrivial topological fluctuations of the Quantum Chromodynamics vacuum. In heavy-ion collisions, the CME is expected to result in a charge separation phenomenon across the reaction plane, whose strength could be strongly energy dependent. The previous CME searches have been focused on top RHIC energy collisions. In this Letter, we present a low energy search for the CME in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√=27 GeV. We measure elliptic flow scaled charge-dependent correlators relative to the event planes that are defined at both mid-rapidity |η|<1.0 and at forward rapidity 2.1<|η|<5.1. We compare the results based on the directed flow plane (Ψ1) at forward rapidity and the elliptic flow plane (Ψ2) at both central and forward rapidity. The CME scenario is expected to result in a larger correlation relative to Ψ1 than to Ψ2, while a flow driven background scenario would lead to a consistent result for both event planes. In 10-50\% centrality, results using three different event planes are found to be consistent within experimental uncertainties, suggesting a flow driven background scenario dominating the measurement. We obtain an upper limit on the deviation from a flow driven background scenario at the 95\% confidence level. This work opens up a possible road map towards future CME search with the high statistics data from the RHIC Beam Energy Scan Phase-II.
A decisive experimental test of the Chiral Magnetic Effect (CME) is considered one of the major scientific goals at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) towards understanding the nontrivial topological fluctuations of the Quantum Chromodynamics vacuum. In heavy-ion collisions, the CME is expected to result in a charge separation phenomenon across the reaction plane, whose strength could be strongly energy dependent. The previous CME searches have been focused on top RHIC energy collisions. In this Letter, we present a low energy search for the CME in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√=27 GeV. We measure elliptic flow scaled charge-dependent correlators relative to the event planes that are defined at both mid-rapidity |η|<1.0 and at forward rapidity 2.1<|η|<5.1. We compare the results based on the directed flow plane (Ψ1) at forward rapidity and the elliptic flow plane (Ψ2) at both central and forward rapidity. The CME scenario is expected to result in a larger correlation relative to Ψ1 than to Ψ2, while a flow driven background scenario would lead to a consistent result for both event planes. In 10-50\% centrality, results using three different event planes are found to be consistent within experimental uncertainties, suggesting a flow driven background scenario dominating the measurement. We obtain an upper limit on the deviation from a flow driven background scenario at the 95\% confidence level. This work opens up a possible road map towards future CME search with the high statistics data from the RHIC Beam Energy Scan Phase-II.
A decisive experimental test of the Chiral Magnetic Effect (CME) is considered one of the major scientific goals at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) towards understanding the nontrivial topological fluctuations of the Quantum Chromodynamics vacuum. In heavy-ion collisions, the CME is expected to result in a charge separation phenomenon across the reaction plane, whose strength could be strongly energy dependent. The previous CME searches have been focused on top RHIC energy collisions. In this Letter, we present a low energy search for the CME in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√=27 GeV. We measure elliptic flow scaled charge-dependent correlators relative to the event planes that are defined at both mid-rapidity |η|<1.0 and at forward rapidity 2.1<|η|<5.1. We compare the results based on the directed flow plane (Ψ1) at forward rapidity and the elliptic flow plane (Ψ2) at both central and forward rapidity. The CME scenario is expected to result in a larger correlation relative to Ψ1 than to Ψ2, while a flow driven background scenario would lead to a consistent result for both event planes. In 10-50\% centrality, results using three different event planes are found to be consistent within experimental uncertainties, suggesting a flow driven background scenario dominating the measurement. We obtain an upper limit on the deviation from a flow driven background scenario at the 95\% confidence level. This work opens up a possible road map towards future CME search with the high statistics data from the RHIC Beam Energy Scan Phase-II.
We present the first measurements of transverse momentum spectra of π±, K±, p(p¯) at midrapidity (|y|<0.1) in U+U collisions at √sNN = 193 GeV with the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The centrality dependence of particle yields, average transverse momenta, particle ratios and kinetic freeze-out parameters are discussed. The results are compared with the published results from Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−−√= 200 GeV in STAR. The results are also compared to those from A Multi Phase Transport (AMPT) model.
We report the beam energy and collision centrality dependence of fifth and sixth order cumulants (C5, C6) and factorial cumulants (κ5, κ6) of net-proton and proton distributions, from sNN−−−−√=3−200 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC. The net-proton cumulant ratios generally follow the hierarchy expected from QCD thermodynamics, except for the case of collisions at sNN−−−−√ = 3 GeV. C6/C2 for 0-40\% centrality collisions is increasingly negative with decreasing sNN−−−−√, while it is positive for the lowest sNN−−−−√ studied. These observed negative signs are consistent with QCD calculations (at baryon chemical potential, μB≤ 110 MeV) that include a crossover quark-hadron transition. In addition, for sNN−−−−√≥ 11.5 GeV, the measured proton κn, within uncertainties, does not support the two-component shape of proton distributions that would be expected from a first-order phase transition. Taken in combination, the hyper-order proton number fluctuations suggest that the structure of QCD matter at high baryon density, μB∼750 MeV (sNN−−−−√ = 3 GeV) is starkly different from those at vanishing μB∼20MeV (sNN−−−−√ = 200 GeV and higher).
We report on measurements of sequential Υ suppression in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√ = 200 GeV with the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) through both the dielectron and dimuon decay channels. In the 0-60% centrality class, the nuclear modification factors (RAA), which quantify the level of yield suppression in heavy-ion collisions compared to p+p collisions, for Υ(1S) and Υ(2S) are 0.40±0.03 (stat.)±0.03 (sys.)±0.09 (norm.) and 0.26±0.08 (stat.)±0.02 (sys.)±0.06 (norm.), respectively, while the upper limit of the Υ(3S) RAA is 0.17 at a 95% confidence level. This provides experimental evidence that the Υ(3S) is significantly more suppressed than the Υ(1S) at RHIC. The level of suppression for Υ(1S) is comparable to that observed at the much higher collision energy at the Large Hadron Collider. These results point to the creation of a medium at RHIC whose temperature is sufficiently high to strongly suppress excited Υ states.
Measurements of mass and Λ binding energy of 4ΛH and 4ΛHe in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√=3 GeV are presented, with an aim to address the charge symmetry breaking (CSB) problem in hypernuclei systems with atomic number A = 4. The Λ binding energies are measured to be 2.22±0.06(stat.)±0.14(syst.) MeV and 2.38±0.13(stat.)±0.12(syst.) MeV for 4ΛH and 4ΛHe, respectively. The measured Λ binding-energy difference is 0.16±0.14(stat.)±0.10(syst.) MeV for ground states. Combined with the γ-ray transition energies, the binding-energy difference for excited states is −0.16±0.14(stat.)±0.10(syst.) MeV, which is negative and comparable to the value of the ground states within uncertainties. These new measurements on the Λ binding-energy difference in A = 4 hypernuclei systems are consistent with the theoretical calculations that result in ΔB4Λ(1+exc)≈−ΔB4Λ(0+g.s.)<0 and present a new method for the study of CSB effect using relativistic heavy-ion collisions.
Measurements of mass and Λ binding energy of 4ΛH and 4ΛHe in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√=3 GeV are presented, with an aim to address the charge symmetry breaking (CSB) problem in hypernuclei systems with atomic number A = 4. The Λ binding energies are measured to be 2.22±0.06(stat.)±0.14(syst.) MeV and 2.38±0.13(stat.)±0.12(syst.) MeV for 4ΛH and 4ΛHe, respectively. The measured Λ binding-energy difference is 0.16±0.14(stat.)±0.10(syst.) MeV for ground states. Combined with the γ-ray transition energies, the binding-energy difference for excited states is −0.16±0.14(stat.)±0.10(syst.) MeV, which is negative and comparable to the value of the ground states within uncertainties. These new measurements on the Λ binding-energy difference in A = 4 hypernuclei systems are consistent with the theoretical calculations that result in ΔB4Λ(1+exc)≈−ΔB4Λ(0+g.s.)<0 and present a new method for the study of CSB effect using relativistic heavy-ion collisions.
Elliptic flow of heavy-flavor decay electrons in Au+Au collisions at √sNN = 27 and 54.4 GeV at RHIC
(2023)
We report on new measurements of elliptic flow (v2) of electrons from heavy-flavor hadron decays at mid-rapidity (|y|<0.8) in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√ = 27 and 54.4 GeV from the STAR experiment. Heavy-flavor decay electrons (eHF) in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√ = 54.4 GeV exhibit a non-zero v2 in the transverse momentum (pT) region of pT< 2 GeV/c with the magnitude comparable to that at sNN−−−√=200 GeV. The measured eHF v2 at 54.4 GeV is also consistent with the expectation of their parent charm hadron v2 following number-of-constituent-quark scaling as other light and strange flavor hadrons at this energy. These suggest that charm quarks gain significant collectivity through the evolution of the QCD medium and may reach local thermal equilibrium in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√=54.4 GeV. The measured eHF v2 in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√= 27 GeV is consistent with zero within large uncertainties. The energy dependence of v2 for different flavor particles (π,ϕ,D0/eHF) shows an indication of quark mass hierarchy in reaching thermalization in high-energy nuclear collisions.
Elliptic flow of heavy-flavor decay electrons in Au+Au collisions at √sNN = 27 and 54.4 GeV at RHIC
(2023)
We report on new measurements of elliptic flow (v2) of electrons from heavy-flavor hadron decays at mid-rapidity (|y|<0.8) in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√ = 27 and 54.4 GeV from the STAR experiment. Heavy-flavor decay electrons (eHF) in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√ = 54.4 GeV exhibit a non-zero v2 in the transverse momentum (pT) region of pT< 2 GeV/c with the magnitude comparable to that at sNN−−−√=200 GeV. The measured eHF v2 at 54.4 GeV is also consistent with the expectation of their parent charm hadron v2 following number-of-constituent-quark scaling as other light and strange flavor hadrons at this energy. These suggest that charm quarks gain significant collectivity through the evolution of the QCD medium and may reach local thermal equilibrium in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√=54.4 GeV. The measured eHF v2 in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√= 27 GeV is consistent with zero within large uncertainties. The energy dependence of v2 for different flavor particles (π,ϕ,D0/eHF) shows an indication of quark mass hierarchy in reaching thermalization in high-energy nuclear collisions.
Density fluctuations near the QCD critical point can be probed via an intermittency analysis in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. We report the first measurement of intermittency in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√ = 7.7-200 GeV measured by the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The scaled factorial moments of identified charged hadrons are analyzed at mid-rapidity and within the transverse momentum phase space. We observe a power-law behavior of scaled factorial moments in Au+Au collisions and a decrease in the extracted scaling exponent (ν) from peripheral to central collisions. The ν is consistent with a constant for different collisions energies in the mid-central (10-40\%) collisions. Moreover, the ν in the 0-5\% most central Au+Au collisions exhibits a non-monotonic energy dependence that reaches a possible minimum around sNN−−−√ = 27 GeV. The physics implications on the QCD phase structure are discussed.
Density fluctuations near the QCD critical point can be probed via an intermittency analysis in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. We report the first measurement of intermittency in Au+Au collisions at √sNN = 7.7-200 GeV measured by the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The scaled factorial moments of identified charged hadrons are analyzed at mid-rapidity and within the transverse momentum phase space. We observe a power-law behavior of scaled factorial moments in Au+Au collisions and a decrease in the extracted scaling exponent (ν) from peripheral to central collisions. The ν is consistent with a constant for different collisions energies in the mid-central (10-40%) collisions. Moreover, the ν in the 0-5% most central Au+Au collisions exhibits a non-monotonic energy dependence that reaches a minimum around √sNN = 27 GeV. The physics implications on the QCD phase structure are discussed.
Observation of directed flow of hypernuclei Λ³H and Λ⁴H in √sNN = 3 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC
(2023)
We report here the first observation of directed flow (v1) of the hypernuclei 3ΛH and 4ΛH in mid-central Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√ = 3 GeV at RHIC. These data are taken as part of the beam energy scan program carried out by the STAR experiment. From 165 × 106 events in 5%-40% centrality, about 8400 3ΛH and 5200 4ΛH candidates are reconstructed through two- and three-body decay channels. We observe that these hypernuclei exhibit significant directed flow. Comparing to that of light nuclei, it is found that the midrapidity v1 slopes of 3ΛH and 4ΛH follow baryon number scaling, implying that the coalescence is the dominant mechanism for these hypernuclei production in such collisions.
The linear and mode-coupled contributions to higher-order anisotropic flow are presented for Au+Au collisions at √sN N = 27, 39, 54.4, and 200 GeV and compared to similar measurements for Pb+Pb collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The coefficients and the flow harmonics’ correlations, which characterize the linear and mode-coupled response to the lower-order anisotropies, indicate a beam energy dependence consistent with an influence from the specific shear viscosity (η/s). In contrast, the dimensionless coefficients, mode-coupled response coefficients, and normalized symmetric cumulants are approximately beam-energy independent, consistent with a significant role from initialstate effects. These measurements could provide unique supplemental constraints to (i) distinguish between different initial-state models and (ii) delineate the temperature (T ) and baryon chemical potential (μB ) dependence of the specific shear viscosity η s (T ,μB ).
The linear and mode-coupled contributions to higher-order anisotropic flow are presented for Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√ = 27, 39, 54.4, and 200 GeV and compared to similar measurements for Pb+Pb collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The coefficients and the flow harmonics' correlations, which characterize the linear and mode-coupled response to the lower-order anisotropies, indicate a beam energy dependence consistent with an influence from the specific shear viscosity (η/s). In contrast, the dimensionless coefficients, mode-coupled response coefficients, and normalized symmetric cumulants are approximately beam-energy independent, consistent with a significant role from initial-state effects. These measurements could provide unique supplemental constraints to (i) distinguish between different initial-state models and (ii) delineate the temperature (T) and baryon chemical potential (μB) dependence of the specific shear viscosity ηs(T,μB).
Measurements of mass and Λ binding energy of 4ΛH and 4ΛHe in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√=3 GeV are presented, with an aim to address the charge symmetry breaking (CSB) problem in hypernuclei systems with atomic number A = 4. The Λ binding energies are measured to be 2.22±0.06(stat.)±0.14(syst.) MeV and 2.38±0.13(stat.)±0.12(syst.) MeV for 4ΛH and 4ΛHe, respectively. The measured Λ binding-energy difference is 0.16±0.14(stat.)±0.10(syst.) MeV for ground states. Combined with the γ-ray transition energies, the binding-energy difference for excited states is −0.16±0.14(stat.)±0.10(syst.) MeV, which is negative and comparable to the value of the ground states within uncertainties. These new measurements on the Λ binding-energy difference in A = 4 hypernuclei systems are consistent with the theoretical calculations that result in ΔB4Λ(1+exc)≈−ΔB4Λ(0+g.s.)<0 and present a new method for the study of CSB effect using relativistic heavy-ion collisions.
Azimuthal anisotropy measurement of (multi-)strange hadrons in Au+Au collisions at √sNN = 54.4 GeV
(2023)
Azimuthal anisotropy of produced particles is one of the most important observables used to access the collective properties of the expanding medium created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. In this paper, we present second (v2) and third (v3) order azimuthal anisotropies of K0S, ϕ, Λ, Ξ and Ω at mid-rapidity (|y|<1) in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√ = 54.4 GeV measured by the STAR detector. The v2 and v3 are measured as a function of transverse momentum and centrality. Their energy dependence is also studied. v3 is found to be more sensitive to the change in the center-of-mass energy than v2. Scaling by constituent quark number is found to hold for v2 within 10%. This observation could be evidence for the development of partonic collectivity in 54.4 GeV Au+Au collisions. Differences in v2 and v3 between baryons and anti-baryons are presented, and ratios of v3/v3/22 are studied and motivated by hydrodynamical calculations. The ratio of v2 of ϕ mesons to that of anti-protons (v2(ϕ)/v2(p¯)) shows centrality dependence at low transverse momentum, presumably resulting from the larger effects from hadronic interactions on anti-proton v2.
Two-particle correlations on transverse rapidity in Au+Au collisions at √sNN = 200 GeV at STAR
(2022)
Two-particle correlation measurements projected onto two-dimensional, transverse rapidity coordinates (yT1,yT2), allow access to dynamical properties of the QCD medium produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions that angular correlation measurements are not sensitive to. We report non-identified charged-particle correlations for Au + Au minimum-bias collisions at sNN−−−√ = 200 GeV taken by the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC). Correlations are presented as 2D functions of transverse rapidity for like-sign, unlike-sign and all charged-particle pairs, as well as for particle pairs whose relative azimuthal angles lie on the near-side, the away-side, or at all relative azimuth. The correlations are constructed using charged particles with transverse momentum pT≥0.15 GeV/c, pseudorapidity from −1 to 1, and azimuthal angles from −π to π. The significant correlation structures that are observed evolve smoothly with collision centrality. The major correlation features include a saddle shape plus a broad peak with maximum near yT≈3, corresponding to pT≈ 1.5 GeV/c. The broad peak is observed in both like- and unlike-sign charge combinations and in near- and away-side relative azimuthal angles. The all-charge, all-azimuth correlation measurements are compared with the theoretical predictions of {\sc hijing} and {\sc epos}. The results indicate that the correlations for peripheral to mid-central collisions can be approximately described as a superposition of nucleon + nucleon collisions with minimal effects from the QCD medium. Strong medium effects are indicated in mid- to most-central collisions.
Notwithstanding decades of progress since Yukawa first developed a description of the force between nucleons in terms of meson exchange, a full understanding of the strong interaction remains a major challenge in modern science. One remaining difficulty arises from the non-perturbative nature of the strong force, which leads to the phenomenon of quark confinement at distances on the order of the size of the proton. Here we show that in relativistic heavy-ion collisions, where quarks and gluons are set free over an extended volume, two species of produced vector (spin-1) mesons, namely ϕ and K∗0, emerge with a surprising pattern of global spin alignment. In particular, the global spin alignment for ϕ is unexpectedly large, while that for K∗0 is consistent with zero. The observed spin-alignment pattern and magnitude for the ϕ cannot be explained by conventional mechanisms, while a model with a connection to strong force fields, i.e. an effective proxy description within the Standard Model and Quantum Chromodynamics, accommodates the current data. This connection, if fully established, will open a potential new avenue for studying the behaviour of strong force fields.
The strong force, as one of the four fundamental forces at work in the universe, governs interactions of quarks and gluons, and binds together the atomic nucleus. Notwithstanding decades of progress since Yukawa first developed a description of the force between nucleons in terms of meson exchange, a full understanding of the strong interaction remains a major challenge in modern science. One remaining difficulty arises from the non-perturbative nature of the strong force, which leads to the phenomenon of quark confinement at distance scales on the order of the size of the proton. Here we show that in relativistic heavy-ion collisions, where quarks and gluons are set free over an extended volume, two species of produced vector (spin-1) mesons, namely ϕ and K∗0, emerge with a surprising pattern of global spin alignment. In particular, the global spin alignment for ϕ is unexpectedly large, while that for K∗0 is consistent with zero. The observed spin-alignment pattern and magnitude for the ϕ cannot be explained by conventional mechanisms, while a model with strong force fields accommodates the current data. This is the first time that the strong force field is experimentally supported as a key mechanism that leads to global spin alignment. We extract a quantity proportional to the intensity of the field of the strong force. Within the framework of the Standard Model, where the strong force is typically described in the quark and gluon language of Quantum Chromodynamics, the field being considered here is an effective proxy description. This is a qualitatively new class of measurement, which opens a new avenue for studying the behaviour of strong force fields via their imprint on spin alignment.
The strong force, as one of the four fundamental forces at work in the universe, governs interactions of quarks and gluons, and binds together the atomic nucleus. Notwithstanding decades of progress since Yukawa first developed a description of the force between nucleons in terms of meson exchange, a full understanding of the strong interaction remains a major challenge in modern science. One remaining difficulty arises from the non-perturbative nature of the strong force, which leads to the phenomenon of quark confinement at distance scales on the order of the size of the proton. Here we show that in relativistic heavy-ion collisions, where quarks and gluons are set free over an extended volume, two species of produced vector (spin-1) mesons, namely ϕ and K∗0, emerge with a surprising pattern of global spin alignment. In particular, the global spin alignment for ϕ is unexpectedly large, while that for K∗0 is consistent with zero. The observed spin-alignment pattern and magnitude for the ϕ cannot be explained by conventional mechanisms, while a model with strong force fields accommodates the current data. This is the first time that the strong force field is experimentally supported as a key mechanism that leads to global spin alignment. We extract a quantity proportional to the intensity of the field of the strong force. Within the framework of the Standard Model, where the strong force is typically described in the quark and gluon language of Quantum Chromodynamics, the field being considered here is an effective proxy description. This is a qualitatively new class of measurement, which opens a new avenue for studying the behaviour of strong force fields via their imprint on spin alignment.
A linearly polarized photon can be quantized from the Lorentz-boosted electromagnetic field of a nucleus traveling at ultra-relativistic speed. When two relativistic heavy nuclei pass one another at a distance of a few nuclear radii, the photon from one nucleus may interact through a virtual quark-antiquark pair with gluons from the other nucleus forming a short-lived vector meson (e.g. ρ0). In this experiment, the polarization was utilized in diffractive photoproduction to observe a unique spin interference pattern in the angular distribution of ρ0→π+π− decays. The observed interference is a result of an overlap of two wave functions at a distance an order of magnitude larger than the ρ0 travel distance within its lifetime. The strong-interaction nuclear radii were extracted from these diffractive interactions, and found to be 6.53±0.06 fm (197Au) and 7.29±0.08 fm (238U), larger than the nuclear charge radii. The observable is demonstrated to be sensitive to the nuclear geometry and quantum interference of non-identical particles.
In high-energy heavy-ion collisions, partonic collectivity is evidenced by the constituent quark number scaling of elliptic flow anisotropy for identified hadrons. A breaking of this scaling and dominance of baryonic interactions is found for identified hadron collective flow measurements in sNN−−−√ = 3 GeV Au+Au collisions. In this paper, we report measurements of the first- and second-order azimuthal anisotropic parameters, v1 and v2, of light nuclei (d, t, 3He, 4He) produced in sNN−−−√ = 3 GeV Au+Au collisions at the STAR experiment. An atomic mass number scaling is found in the measured v1 slopes of light nuclei at mid-rapidity. For the measured v2 magnitude, a strong rapidity dependence is observed. Unlike v2 at higher collision energies, the v2 values at mid-rapidity for all light nuclei are negative and no scaling is observed with the atomic mass number. Calculations by the Jet AA Microscopic Transport Model (JAM), with baryonic mean-field plus nucleon coalescence, are in good agreement with our observations, implying baryonic interactions dominate the collective dynamics in 3 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC.
The longitudinal and transverse spin transfers to Λ (Λ¯¯¯¯) hyperons in polarized proton-proton collisions are expected to be sensitive to the helicity and transversity distributions, respectively, of (anti-)strange quarks in the proton, and to the corresponding polarized fragmentation functions. We report improved measurements of the longitudinal spin transfer coefficient, DLL, and the transverse spin transfer coefficient, DTT, to Λ and Λ¯¯¯¯ in polarized proton-proton collisions at s√ = 200 GeV by the STAR experiment at RHIC. The data set includes longitudinally polarized proton-proton collisions with an integrated luminosity of 52 pb−1, and transversely polarized proton-proton collisions with a similar integrated luminosity. Both data sets have about twice the statistics of previous results and cover a kinematic range of |ηΛ(Λ¯¯¯¯)| < 1.2 and transverse momentum pT,Λ(Λ¯¯¯¯) up to 8 GeV/c. We also report the first measurements of the hyperon spin transfer coefficients DLL and DTT as a function of the fractional jet momentum z carried by the hyperon, which can provide more direct constraints on the
We report results on an elastic cross section measurement in proton–proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy √𝑠 = 510 GeV, obtained with the Roman Pot setup of the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The elastic differential cross section is measured in the four-momentum transfer squared range 0.23 ≤ −𝑡 ≤ 0.67 GeV2. This is the only measurement of the proton-proton elastic cross section in this 𝑡 range for collision energies above the Intersecting Storage Rings (ISR) and below the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) colliders. We find that a constant slope 𝐵 does not fit the data in the aforementioned 𝑡 range, and we obtain a much better fit using a second-order polynomial for 𝐵(𝑡). This is the first measurement below the LHC energies for which the non-constant behavior 𝐵(𝑡) is observed. The 𝑡 dependence of 𝐵 is also determined using six subintervals of 𝑡 in the STAR measured 𝑡 range, and is in good agreement with the phenomenological models. The measured elastic differential cross section d𝜎∕dt agrees well with the results obtained at √𝑠 = 540 GeV for proton–antiproton collisions by the UA4 experiment. We also determine that the integrated elastic cross section within the STAR 𝑡-range is 𝜎f id el = 462.1 ± 0.9(stat.) ± 1.1(syst.) ± 11.6(scale) 𝜇b.
We report a new measurement of the production of electrons from open heavy-flavor hadron decays (HFEs) at mid-rapidity (|y|< 0.7) in Au+Au collisions at sNN−−−√=200 GeV. Invariant yields of HFEs are measured for the transverse momentum range of 3.5<pT<9 GeV/c in various configurations of the collision geometry. The HFE yields in head-on Au+Au collisions are suppressed by approximately a factor of 2 compared to that in p+p collisions scaled by the average number of binary collisions, indicating strong interactions between heavy quarks and the hot and dense medium created in heavy-ion collisions. Comparison of these results with models provides additional tests of theoretical calculations of heavy quark energy loss in the quark-gluon plasma.