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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.
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.
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.
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 ).
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.