PHENIX Collaboration, N.J. Abdulameer, U. Acharya, C. Aidala, N.N. Ajitanand, Y. Akiba, R. Akimoto, J. Alexander, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, S. Antsupov, K. Aoki, N. Apadula, H. Asano, E.T. Atomssa, T.C. Awes, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, M. Bai, X. Bai, et al (428) The jet cross-section and jet-substructure observables in $p$$+$$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV were measured by the PHENIX Collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Jets are reconstructed from charged-particle tracks and electromagnetic-calorimeter clusters using the anti-$k_{t}$ algorithm with a jet radius $R=0.3$ for jets with transverse momentum within $8.0<p_T<40.0$ GeV/$c$ and pseudorapidity $|\eta|<0.15$. Measurements include the jet cross section, as well as distributions of SoftDrop-groomed momentum fraction ($z_g$), charged-particle transverse momentum with respect to jet axis ($j_T$), and radial distributions of charged particles within jets ($r$). Also meaureed was the distribution of $\xi=-ln(z)$, where $z$ is the fraction of the jet momentum carried by the charged particle. The measurements are compared to theoretical next-to and next-to-next-to-leading-order calculatios, PYTHIA event generator, and to other existing experimental results. Indicated from these meaurements is a lower particle multiplicity in jets at RHIC energies when compared to models. Also noted are implications for future jet measurements with sPHENIX at RHIC as well as at the future Election-Ion Collider.
PHENIX Collaboration, N.J. Abdulameer, U. Acharya, A. Adare, C. Aidala, N.N. Ajitanand, Y. Akiba, R. Akimoto, J. Alexander, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, K. Aoki, N. Apadula, H. Asano, E.T. Atomssa, T.C. Awes, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, M. Bai, X. Bai, et al (462) Dec 18 2023
nucl-ex arXiv:2312.09827v2
The PHENIX experiment has performed a systematic study of identified charged-hadron ($\pi^\pm$, $K^\pm$, $p$, $\bar{p}$) production at midrapidity in $p$$+$Al, $^3$He$+$Au, Cu$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV and U$+$U collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=193$ GeV. Identified charged-hadron invariant transverse-momentum ($p_T$) and transverse-mass ($m_T$) spectra are presented and interpreted in terms of radially expanding thermalized systems. The particle ratios of $K/\pi$ and $p/\pi$ have been measured in different centrality ranges of large (Cu$+$Au, U$+$U) and small ($p$$+$Al, $^3$He$+$Au) collision systems. The values of $K/\pi$ ratios measured in all considered collision systems were found to be consistent with those measured in $p$$+$$p$ collisions. However the values of $p/\pi$ ratios measured in large collision systems reach the values of $\approx0.6$, which is $\approx2$ times larger than in $p$$+$$p$ collisions. These results can be qualitatively understood in terms of the baryon enhancement expected from hadronization by recombination. Identified charged-hadron nuclear-modification factors ($R_{AB}$) are also presented. Enhancement of proton $R_{AB}$ values over meson $R_{AB}$ values was observed in central $^3$He$+$Au, Cu$+$Au, and U$+$U collisions. The proton $R_{AB}$ values measured in $p$$+$Al collision system were found to be consistent with $R_{AB}$ values of $\phi$, $\pi^\pm$, $K^\pm$, and $\pi^0$ mesons, which may indicate that the size of the system produced in $p$$+$Al collisions is too small for recombination to cause a noticeable increase in proton production.
N. Alizadehvandchali, N. Apadula, M. Arslandok, C. Beattie, R. Bellwied, J. T. Blair, F. Bock, H. Bossi, A. Bylinkin, H. Caines, I. Chakaberia, M. Cherney, T. M. Cormier, R. Cruz-Torres, P. Dhankher, D. U. Dixit, R. J. Ehlers, W. Fan, M. Fasel, F. Flor, et al (63) The ALICE-USA collaboration presents its plans for the 2023 U.S. Long Range Plan for Nuclear Science.
ATHENA Collaboration, J. Adam, L. Adamczyk, N. Agrawal, C. Aidala, W. Akers, M. Alekseev, M.M. Allen, F. Ameli, A. Angerami, P. Antonioli, N.J. Apadula, A. Aprahamian, W. Armstrong, M. Arratia, J.R. Arrington, A. Asaturyan, E.C. Aschenauer, K. Augsten, S. Aune, et al (420) ATHENA has been designed as a general purpose detector capable of delivering the full scientific scope of the Electron-Ion Collider. Careful technology choices provide fine tracking and momentum resolution, high performance electromagnetic and hadronic calorimetry, hadron identification over a wide kinematic range, and near-complete hermeticity. This article describes the detector design and its expected performance in the most relevant physics channels. It includes an evaluation of detector technology choices, the technical challenges to realizing the detector and the R&D required to meet those challenges.
N.J. Abdulameer, U. Acharya, A. Adare, C. Aidala, N.N. Ajitanand, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, K. Aoki, N. Apadula, H. Asano, C. Ayuso, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, M. Bai, N.S. Bandara, B. Bannier, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, et al (374) Mar 21 2022
nucl-ex arXiv:2203.09894v2
Recently, the PHENIX Collaboration has published second- and third-harmonic Fourier coefficients $v_2$ and $v_3$ for midrapidity ($|\eta|<0.35$) charged hadrons in 0\%--5\% central $p$$+$Au, $d$$+$Au, and $^3$He$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV utilizing three sets of two-particle correlations for two detector combinations with different pseudorapidity acceptance [Phys. Rev. C \bf 105, 024901 (2022)]. This paper extends these measurements of $v_2$ to all centralities in $p$$+$Au, $d$$+$Au, and $^3$He$+$Au collisions, as well as $p$$+$$p$ collisions, as a function of transverse momentum ($p_T$) and event multiplicity. The kinematic dependence of $v_2$ is quantified as the ratio $R$ of $v_2$ between the two detector combinations as a function of event multiplicity for $0.5$$<$$p_T$$<$$1$ and $2$$<$$p_T$$<$$2.5$ GeV/$c$. A multiphase-transport (AMPT) model can reproduce the observed $v_2$ in most-central to midcentral $d$$+$Au and $^3$He$+$Au collisions. However, the AMPT model systematically overestimates the measurements in $p$$+$$p$, $p$$+$Au, and peripheral $d$$+$Au and $^3$He$+$Au collisions, indicating a higher nonflow contribution in AMPT than in the experimental data. The AMPT model fails to describe the observed $R$ for $0.5$$<$$p_T$$<$$1$ GeV/$c$, but there is qualitative agreement with the measurements for $2$$<$$p_T$$<$$2.5$ GeV/$c$.
U. Acharya, A. Adare, C. Aidala, N.N. Ajitanand, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, N. Apadula, H. Asano, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, M. Bai, N.S. Bandara, B. Bannier, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, S. Beckman, R. Belmont, et al (352) Small nuclear collisions are mainly sensitive to cold-nuclear-matter effects; however, the collective behavior observed in these collisions shows a hint of hot-nuclear-matter effects. The identified-particle spectra, especially the $\phi$ mesons which contain strange and antistrange quarks and have a relatively small hadronic-interaction cross section, are a good tool to study these effects. The PHENIX experiment has measured $\phi$ mesons in a specific set of small collision systems $p$$+$Al, $p$$+$Au, and $^3$He$+$Au, as well as $d$$+$Au [Phys. Rev. C \bf 83, 024909 (2011)], at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. The transverse-momentum spectra and nuclear-modification factors are presented and compared to theoretical-model predictions. The comparisons with different calculations suggest that quark-gluon plasma may be formed in these small collision systems at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. However, the volume and the lifetime of the produced medium may be insufficient for observing strangeness-enhancement and jet-quenching effects. Comparison with calculations suggests that the main production mechanisms of $\phi$ mesons at midrapidity may be different in $p$$+$Al versus $p/d/$$^3$He$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. While thermal quark recombination seems to dominate in $p/d/$$^3$He$+$Au collisions, fragmentation seems to be the main production mechanism in $p$$+$Al collisions.
U.A. Acharya, C. Aidala, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, N. Apadula, H. Asano, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, N.S. Bandara, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, R. Belmont, A. Berdnikov, Y. Berdnikov, L. Bichon, B. Blankenship, D.S. Blau, et al (297) Suppression of the $J/\psi$ nuclear-modification factor has been seen as a trademark signature of final-state effects in large collision systems for decades. In small systems, the nuclear modification was attributed to cold-nuclear-matter effects until the observation of strong differential suppression of the $\psi(2S)$ state in $p/d$$+$$A$ collisions suggested the presence of final-state effects. Results of $J/\psi$ and $\psi(2S)$ measurements in the dimuon decay channel are presented here for $p$$+$$p$, $p$$+$Al, and $p$$+$Au collision systems at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. The results are predominantly shown in the form of the nuclear-modification factor, $R_{pA}$, the ratio of the $\psi(2S)$ invariant yield per nucleon-nucleon collision in collisions of proton on target nucleus to that in $p$$+$$p$ collisions. Measurements of the $J/\psi$ and $\psi(2S)$ nuclear-modification factor are compared with shadowing and transport-model predictions, as well as to complementary measurements at Large-Hadron-Collider energies.
U.A. Acharya, C. Aidala, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, N. Apadula, H. Asano, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, N.S. Bandara, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, R. Belmont, A. Berdnikov, Y. Berdnikov, L. Bichon, B. Blankenship, D.S. Blau, et al (292) In 2015, the PHENIX collaboration has measured single-spin asymmetries for charged pions in transversely polarized proton-proton collisions at the center of mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV. The pions were detected at central rapidities of $|\eta|<0.35$. The single-spin asymmetries are consistent with zero for each charge individually, as well as consistent with the previously published neutral-pion asymmetries in the same rapidity range. However, they show a slight indication of charge-dependent differences which may suggest a flavor dependence in the underlying mechanisms that create these asymmetries.
U.A. Acharya, A. Adare, C. Aidala, N.N. Ajitanand, Y. Akiba, H. Al-Bataineh, J. Alexander, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, A. Angerami, K. Aoki, N. Apadula, Y. Aramaki, H. Asano, E.T. Atomssa, R. Averbeck, T.C. Awes, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, M. Bai, et al (535) The PHENIX collaboration presents a systematic study of $\pi^0$ production from $p$$+$$p$, $p$$+$Al, $p$$+$Au, $d$$+$Au, and $^{3}$He$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. Measurements were performed with different centrality selections as well as the total inelastic, 0%--100%, selection for all collision systems. For 0%--100% collisions, the nuclear modification factors, $R_{xA}$, are consistent with unity for $p_T$ above 8 GeV/$c$, but exhibit an enhancement in peripheral collisions and a suppression in central collisions. The enhancement and suppression characteristics are similar for all systems for the same centrality class. It is shown that for high-$p_T$-$\pi^0$ production, the nucleons in the $d$ and $^3$He interact mostly independently with the Au nucleus and that the counter intuitive centrality dependence is likely due to a physical correlation between multiplicity and the presence of a hard scattering process. These observations disfavor models where parton energy loss has a significant contribution to nuclear modifications in small systems. Nuclear modifications at lower $p_T$ resemble the Cronin effect -- an increase followed by a peak in central or inelastic collisions and a plateau in peripheral collisions. The peak height has a characteristic ordering by system size as $p$$+$Au $>$ $d$$+$Au $>$ $^{3}$He$+$Au $>$ $p$$+$Al. For collisions with Au ions, current calculations based on initial state cold nuclear matter effects result in the opposite order, suggesting the presence of other contributions to nuclear modifications, in particular at lower $p_T$.
U.A. Acharya, C. Aidala, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, N. Apadula, H. Asano, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, N.S. Bandara, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, R. Belmont, A. Berdnikov, Y. Berdnikov, L. Bichon, B. Blankenship, D.S. Blau, et al (292) In 2015 the PHENIX collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider recorded $p$$+$$p$, $p$$+$Al, and $p$$+$Au collision data at center of mass energies of $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV with the proton beam(s) transversely polarized. At very forward rapidities $\eta>6.8$ relative to the polarized proton beam, neutrons were detected either inclusively or in (anti)correlation with detector activity related to hard collisions. The resulting single spin asymmetries, that were previously reported, have now been extracted as a function of the transverse momentum of the neutron as well as its longitudinal momentum fraction $x_F$. The explicit kinematic dependence, combined with the correlation information allows for a closer look at the interplay of different mechanisms suggested to describe these asymmetries, such as hadronic interactions or electromagnetic interactions in ultra-peripheral collisions, UPC. Events that are correlated with a hard collision indeed display a mostly negative asymmetry that increases in magnitude as a function of transverse momentum with only little dependence on $x_F$. In contrast, events that are not likely to have emerged from a hard collision display positive asymmetries for the nuclear collisions with a kinematic dependence that resembles that of a UPC based model. Because the UPC interaction depends strongly on the charge of the nucleus, those effects are very small for $p$$+$$p$ collisions, moderate for $p$$+$Al collisions, and large for $p$$+$Au collisions.
U.A. Acharya, A. Adare, C. Aidala, N.N. Ajitanand, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, K. Aoki, N. Apadula, H. Asano, C. Ayuso, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, M. Bai, N.S. Bandara, B. Bannier, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, et al (366) There is strong evidence for the formation of small droplets of quark-gluon plasma in $p/d/^{3}$He+Au collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and in $p$+$p$/Pb collisions at the Large Hadron Collider. In particular, the analysis of data at RHIC for different geometries obtained by varying the projectile size and shape has proven insightful. In the present analysis, we find excellent agreement with the previously published PHENIX at RHIC results on elliptical and triangular flow with an independent analysis via the two-particle correlation method, which has quite different systematic uncertainties and an independent code base. In addition, the results are extended to other detector combinations with different kinematic (pseudorapidity) coverage. These results provide additional constraints on contributions from nonflow and longitudinal decorrelations.
R. Abdul Khalek, A. Accardi, J. Adam, D. Adamiak, W. Akers, M. Albaladejo, A. Al-bataineh, M. G. Alexeev, F. Ameli, P. Antonioli, N. Armesto, W. R. Armstrong, M. Arratia, J. Arrington, A. Asaturyan, M. Asai, E. C. Aschenauer, S. Aune, H. Avagyan, C. Ayerbe Gayoso, et al (395) This report describes the physics case, the resulting detector requirements, and the evolving detector concepts for the experimental program at the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). The EIC will be a powerful new high-luminosity facility in the United States with the capability to collide high-energy electron beams with high-energy proton and ion beams, providing access to those regions in the nucleon and nuclei where their structure is dominated by gluons. Moreover, polarized beams in the EIC will give unprecedented access to the spatial and spin structure of the proton, neutron, and light ions. The studies leading to this document were commissioned and organized by the EIC User Group with the objective of advancing the state and detail of the physics program and developing detector concepts that meet the emerging requirements in preparation for the realization of the EIC. The effort aims to provide the basis for further development of concepts for experimental equipment best suited for the science needs, including the importance of two complementary detectors and interaction regions. This report consists of three volumes. Volume I is an executive summary of our findings and developed concepts. In Volume II we describe studies of a wide range of physics measurements and the emerging requirements on detector acceptance and performance. Volume III discusses general-purpose detector concepts and the underlying technologies to meet the physics requirements. These considerations will form the basis for a world-class experimental program that aims to increase our understanding of the fundamental structure of all visible matter
U.A. Acharya, C. Aidala, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, N. Apadula, H. Asano, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, N.S. Bandara, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, R. Belmont, A. Berdnikov, Y. Berdnikov, L. Bichon, B. Blankenship, D.S. Blau, et al (292) Studying spin-momentum correlations in hadronic collisions offers a glimpse into a three-dimensional picture of proton structure. The transverse single-spin asymmetry for midrapidity isolated direct photons in $p^\uparrow+p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV is measured with the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Because direct photons in particular are produced from the hard scattering and do not interact via the strong force, this measurement is a clean probe of initial-state spin-momentum correlations inside the proton and is in particular sensitive to gluon interference effects within the proton. This is the first time direct photons have been used as a probe of spin-momentum correlations at RHIC. The uncertainties on the results are a fifty-fold improvement with respect to those of the one prior measurement for the same observable, from the Fermilab E704 experiment. These results constrain gluon spin-momentum correlations in transversely polarized protons.
U.A. Acharya, A. Adare, C. Aidala, N.N. Ajitanand, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, N. Apadula, H. Asano, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, M. Bai, N.S. Bandara, B. Bannier, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, S. Beckman, R. Belmont, et al (343) Charmonium is a valuable probe in heavy-ion collisions to study the properties of the quark gluon plasma, and is also an interesting probe in small collision systems to study cold nuclear matter effects, which are also present in large collision systems. With the recent observations of collective behavior of produced particles in small system collisions, measurements of the modification of charmonium in small systems have become increasingly relevant. We present the results of $J/\psi$ measurements at forward and backward rapidity in various small collision systems, $p$$+$$p$, $p$$+$Al, $p$$+$Au and $^3$He$+$Au, at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$=200 GeV. The results are presented in the form of the observable $R_{AB}$, the nuclear modification factor, a measure of the ratio of the $J/\psi$ invariant yield compared to the scaled yield in $p$$+$$p$ collisions. We examine the rapidity, transverse momentum, and collision centrality dependence of nuclear effects on $J/\psi$ production with different projectile sizes $p$ and $^3$He, and different target sizes Al and Au. The modification is found to be strongly dependent on the target size, but to be very similar for $p$$+$Au and $^{3}$He$+$Au. However, for 0%--20% central collisions at backward rapidity, the modification for $^{3}$He$+$Au is found to be smaller than that for $p$$+$Au, with a mean fit to the ratio of $0.89\pm0.03$(stat)${\pm}0.08$(syst), possibly indicating final state effects due to the larger projectile size.
C. Aidala, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, N. Apadula, H. Asano, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, N.S. Bandara, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, R. Belmont, A. Berdnikov, Y. Berdnikov, D.S. Blau, J.S. Bok, M.L. Brooks, J. Bryslawskyj, et al (284) The PHENIX experiment has studied nuclear effects in $p$$+$Al and $p$$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV on charged hadron production at forward rapidity ($1.4<\eta<2.4$, $p$-going direction) and backward rapidity ($-2.2<\eta<-1.2$, $A$-going direction). Such effects are quantified by measuring nuclear modification factors as a function of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity in various collision multiplicity selections. In central $p$$+$Al and $p$$+$Au collisions, a suppression (enhancement) is observed at forward (backward) rapidity compared to the binary scaled yields in $p$+$p$ collisions. The magnitude of enhancement at backward rapidity is larger in $p$$+$Au collisions than in $p$$+$Al collisions, which have a smaller number of participating nucleons. However, the results at forward rapidity show a similar suppression within uncertainties. The results in the integrated centrality are compared with calculations using nuclear parton distribution functions, which show a reasonable agreement at the forward rapidity but fail to describe the backward rapidity enhancement.
C. Aidala, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, N. Apadula, H. Asano, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, N.S. Bandara, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, R. Belmont, A. Berdnikov, Y. Berdnikov, D.S. Blau, J.S. Bok, M.L. Brooks, J. Bryslawskyj, et al (284) We report on the nuclear dependence of transverse single-spin asymmetries (TSSAs) in the production of positively-charged hadrons in polarized $p^{\uparrow}+p$, $p^{\uparrow}+$Al and $p^{\uparrow}+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. The measurements have been performed at forward rapidity ($1.4<\eta<2.4$) over the range of $1.8<p_{T}<7.0$ GeV$/c$ and $0.1<x_{F}<0.2$. We observed a positive asymmetry $A_{N}$ for positively-charged hadrons in \polpp collisions, and a significantly reduced asymmetry in $p^{\uparrow}$+$A$ collisions. These results reveal a nuclear dependence of charged hadron $A_N$ in a regime where perturbative techniques are relevant. These results provide new opportunities to use \polpA collisions as a tool to investigate the rich phenomena behind TSSAs in hadronic collisions and to use TSSA as a new handle in studying small-system collisions.
C. Aidala, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, N. Apadula, H. Asano, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, N.S. Bandara, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, R. Belmont, A. Berdnikov, Y. Berdnikov, D.S. Blau, J.S. Bok, M.L. Brooks, J. Bryslawskyj, et al (284) Measurements of the differential production of electrons from open-heavy-flavor hadrons with charm- and bottom-quark content in $p$$+$$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV are presented. The measurements proceed through displaced-vertex analyses of electron tracks from the semileptonic decay of charm and bottom hadrons using the PHENIX silicon-vertex detector. The relative contribution of electrons from bottom decays to inclusive heavy-flavor-electron production is found to be consistent with fixed-order-plus-next-to-leading-log perturbative-QCD calculations within experimental and theoretical uncertainties. These new measurements in $p$$+$$p$ collisions provide a precision baseline for comparable forthcoming measurements in A$+$A collisions.
C. Aidala, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, N. Apadula, H. Asano, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, N.S. Bandara, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, R. Belmont, A. Berdnikov, Y. Berdnikov, D.S. Blau, M. Boer, J.S. Bok, M.L. Brooks, et al (281) The PHENIX collaboration has measured high-$p_T$ dihadron correlations in $p$$+$$p$, $p$$+$Al, and $p$$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. The correlations arise from inter- and intra-jet correlations and thus have sensitivity to nonperturbative effects in both the initial and final states. The distributions of $p_{\rm out}$, the transverse momentum component of the associated hadron perpendicular to the trigger hadron, are sensitive to initial and final state transverse momenta. These distributions are measured multi-differentially as a function of $x_E$, the longitudinal momentum fraction of the associated hadron with respect to the trigger hadron. The near-side $p_{\rm out}$ widths, sensitive to fragmentation transverse momentum, show no significant broadening between $p$$+$Au, $p$$+$Al, and $p$$+$$p$. The away-side nonperturbative $p_{\rm out}$ widths are found to be broadened in $p$$+$Au when compared to $p$$+$$p$; however, there is no significant broadening in $p$$+$Al compared to $p$$+$$p$ collisions. The data also suggest that the away-side $p_{\rm out}$ broadening is a function of $N_{\rm coll}$, the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions, in the interaction. The potential implications of these results with regard to initial and final state transverse momentum broadening and energy loss of partons in a nucleus, among other nuclear effects, are discussed.
A. Adare, C. Aidala, N.N. Ajitanand, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, K. Aoki, N. Apadula, H. Asano, C. Ayuso, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, M. Bai, N.S. Bandara, B. Bannier, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, S. Beckman, et al (350) Asymmetric nuclear collisions of $p$$+$Al, $p$$+$Au, $d$$+$Au, and $^{3}$He$+$Au at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV provide an excellent laboratory for understanding particle production, as well as exploring interactions among these particles after their initial creation in the collision. We present measurements of charged hadron production $dN_{\rm ch}/d\eta$ in all such collision systems over a broad pseudorapidity range and as a function of collision multiplicity. A simple wounded quark model is remarkably successful at describing the full data set. We also measure the elliptic flow $v_{2}$ over a similarly broad pseudorapidity range. These measurements provide key constraints on models of particle emission and their translation into flow.
C. Aidala, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, K. Aoki, N. Apadula, H. Asano, C. Ayuso, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, A. Bagoly, N.S. Bandara, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, R. Belmont, A. Berdnikov, Y. Berdnikov, D.S. Blau, et al (302) May 09 2018
nucl-ex arXiv:1805.02973v2
The experimental study of the collisions of heavy nuclei at relativistic energies has established the properties of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP), a state of hot, dense nuclear matter in which quarks and gluons are not bound into hadrons. In this state, matter behaves as a nearly inviscid fluid that efficiently translates initial spatial anisotropies into correlated momentum anisotropies among the produced particles, producing a common velocity field pattern known as collective flow. In recent years, comparable momentum anisotropies have been measured in small-system proton-proton ($p$$+$$p$) and proton-nucleus ($p$$+$$A$) collisions, despite expectations that the volume and lifetime of the medium produced would be too small to form a QGP. Here, we report on the observation of elliptic and triangular flow patterns of charged particles produced in proton-gold ($p$$+$Au), deuteron-gold ($d$$+$Au), and helium-gold ($^3$He$+$Au) collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$~=~200 GeV. The unique combination of three distinct initial geometries and two flow patterns provides unprecedented model discrimination. Hydrodynamical models, which include the formation of a short-lived QGP droplet, provide a simultaneous description of these measurements.
C. Aidala, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, N. Apadula, H. Asano, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, A. Bagoly, N.S. Bandara, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, R. Belmont, A. Berdnikov, Y. Berdnikov, D.S. Blau, M. Boer, J.S. Bok, et al (277) Dihadron and isolated direct photon-hadron angular correlations are measured in $p$$+$$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV. The correlations are sensitive to nonperturbative initial-state and final-state transverse momentum $k_T$ and $j_T$ in the azimuthal nearly back-to-back region $\Delta\phi\sim\pi$. In this region, transverse-momentum-dependent evolution can be studied when several different hard scales are measured. To have sensitivity to small transverse momentum scales, nonperturbative momentum widths of $p_{\rm out}$, the out-of-plane transverse momentum component perpendicular to the trigger particle, are measured. These widths are used to investigate possible effects from transverse-momentum-dependent factorization breaking. When accounting for the longitudinal momentum fraction of the away-side hadron with respect to the near-side trigger particle, the widths are found to increase with the hard scale; this is qualitatively similar to the observed behavior in Drell-Yan and semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering interactions. The momentum widths are also studied as a function of center-of-mass energy by comparing to previous measurements at $\sqrt{s}=510$ GeV. The nonperturbative jet widths also appear to increase with $\sqrt{s}$ at a similar $x_T$, which is qualitatively consistent to similar measurements in Drell-Yan interactions. To quantify the magnitude of any transverse-momentum-dependent factorization breaking effects, calculations will need to be performed to compare to these measurements.
C. Aidala, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, N. Apadula, H. Asano, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, A. Bagoly, N.S. Bandara, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, R. Belmont, A. Berdnikov, Y. Berdnikov, D.S. Blau, M. Boer, J.S. Bok, et al (275) We report the transverse single-spin asymmetries of $J/\psi$ production at forward and backward rapidity, $1.2<|y|<2.2$, as a function of $J/\psi$ transverse momentum ($p_T$) and Feynman-$x$ ($x_F$). The data analyzed were recorded by the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider in 2015 from $p$$+$$p$, $p$$+$Al, and $p$$+$Au collisions with transversely polarized proton beams at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. At this collision energy, single-spin asymmetries for heavy-flavor particle production of $p$$+$$p$ collisions provide access to the spin-dependent gluon distribution and higher-twist correlation functions inside the nucleon, such as the gluon Qiu-Sterman and trigluon correlation functions. Proton+nucleus collisions offer an excellent opportunity to study nuclear effects on the correlation functions. The data indicate negative asymmetries at the two-standard-deviation level in the $p$$+$Au data for $p_T<2$ GeV/$c$ at both forward and backward rapidity, while in $p$$+$$p$ and $p$$+$Al collisions the asymmetries are consistent with zero within the range of experimental uncertainties.
A. Adare, C. Aidala, N.N. Ajitanand, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, N. Apadula, H. Asano, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, A. Bagoly, M. Bai, N.S. Bandara, B. Bannier, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, S. Beckman, R. Belmont, et al (335) We present measurements of the transverse-momentum dependence of elliptic flow $v_2$ for identified pions and (anti)protons at midrapidity ($|\eta|<0.35$), in 0%--5% central $p$$+$Au and $^3$He$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. When taken together with previously published measurements in $d$$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV, the results cover a broad range of small-collision-system multiplicities and intrinsic initial geometries. We observe a clear mass-dependent splitting of $v_2(p_{T})$ in $d$$+$Au and $^3$He$+$Au collisions, just as in large nucleus-nucleus ($A$$+$$A$) collisions, and a smaller splitting in $p$$+$Au collisions. Both hydrodynamic and transport model calculations successfully describe the data at low $p_T$ ($< 1.5$ GeV/$c$), but fail to describe various features at higher $p_T$. In all systems, the $v_2$ values follow an approximate quark-number scaling as a function of the hadron transverse kinetic energy per constituent quark($KE_T/n_q$), which was also seen previously in $A$$+$$A$ collisions.
C. Aidala, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, K. Aoki, N. Apadula, H. Asano, C. Ayuso, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, A. Bagoly, N.S. Bandara, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, R. Belmont, A. Berdnikov, Y. Berdnikov, D.S. Blau, et al (299) Jul 20 2017
nucl-ex arXiv:1707.06108v2
Recently, multiparticle-correlation measurements of relativistic $p/d/^3$He$+$Au, $p$$+$Pb, and even $p$$+$$p$ collisions have shown surprising collective signatures. Here we present beam-energy-scan measurements of 2-, 4-, and 6-particle angular correlations in $d$$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$=200, 62.4, 39, and 19.6 GeV. We also present measurements of 2- and 4-particle angular correlations in $p$$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$=200 GeV. We find the 4-particle cumulant to be real-valued for $d$$+$Au collisions at all four energies. We also find that the 4-particle cumulant in $p$$+$Au has the opposite sign as that in $d$$+$Au, indicating that the correlations are geometrical and therefore collective in origin. Further we find that the 6-particle cumulant agrees with the 4-particle cumulant in $d$$+$Au collisions at 200 GeV, which indicates that nonflow effects are subdominant and provides strong evidence of collectivity.
C. Aidala, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, K. Aoki, N. Apadula, H. Asano, C. Ayuso, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, A. Bagoly, N.S. Bandara, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, R. Belmont, A. Berdnikov, Y. Berdnikov, D.S. Blau, et al (297) During 2015 the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) provided collisions of transversely polarized protons with Au and Al nuclei for the first time, enabling the exploration of transverse-single-spin asymmetries with heavy nuclei. Large single-spin asymmetries in very forward neutron production have been previously observed in transversely polarized $p$$+$$p$ collisions at RHIC, and the existing theoretical framework that was successful in describing the single-spin asymmetry in $p$$+$$p$ collisions predicts only a moderate atomic-mass-number ($A$) dependence. In contrast, the asymmetries observed at RHIC in $p$$+$$A$ collisions showed a surprisingly strong $A$ dependence in inclusive forward neutron production. The observed asymmetry in $p$$+$Al collisions is much smaller, while the asymmetry in $p$$+$Au collisions is a factor of three larger in absolute value and of opposite sign. The interplay of different neutron production mechanisms is discussed as a possible explanation of the observed $A$ dependence.
C. Aidala, N.N. Ajitanand, Y. Akiba, R. Akimoto, J. Alexander, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, K. Aoki, N. Apadula, H. Asano, E.T. Atomssa, T.C. Awes, C. Ayuso, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, A. Bagoly, M. Bai, X. Bai, N.S. Bandara, B. Bannier, et al (441) Feb 06 2017
nucl-ex arXiv:1702.01085v2
The fraction of $J/\psi$ mesons which come from B-meson decay, $\textrm{F}_{B{\rightarrow}J/\psi}$, is measured for J/$\psi$ rapidity \mbox$1.2<|y|<2.2$ and $p_T>0$ in $p$+$p$ and Cu+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$=200 GeV with the PHENIX detector. The extracted fraction is $\textrm{F}_{B{\rightarrow}J/\psi}$ = 0.025 $\pm$ 0.006(stat) $\pm$ 0.010(syst) for $p$+$p$ collisions. For Cu+Au collisions, $\textrm{F}_{B{\rightarrow}J/\psi}$ is 0.094 $\pm$ 0.028(stat) $\pm$ 0.037(syst) in the Au-going direction ($-2.2<y<-1.2$) and 0.089 $\pm$ 0.026(stat) $\pm$ 0.040(syst) in the Cu-going direction ($1.2<y<2.2$). The nuclear modification factor, $R_{\rm CuAu}$, of B mesons in Cu+Au collisions is consistent with binary scaling of measured yields in $p$+$p$ at both forward and backward rapidity.
A. Adare, C. Aidala, N.N. Ajitanand, Y. Akiba, R. Akimoto, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, K. Aoki, N. Apadula, Y. Aramaki, H. Asano, E.T. Atomssa, T.C. Awes, C. Ayuso, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, M. Bai, N.S. Bandara, B. Bannier, K.N. Barish, et al (372) We report the first measurement of the full angular distribution for inclusive $J/\psi\rightarrow\mu^{+}\mu^{-}$ decays in $p$$+$$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=510$ GeV. The measurements are made for $J/\psi$ transverse momentum $2<p_{T}<10$ GeV/$c$ and rapidity $1.2<y<2.2$ in the Helicity, Collins-Soper, and Gottfried-Jackson reference frames. In all frames the polar coefficient $\lambda_{\theta}$ is strongly negative at low $p_{T}$ and becomes close to zero at high $p_{T}$, while the azimuthal coefficient $\lambda_{\phi}$ is close to zero at low $p_{T}$, and becomes slightly negative at higher $p_{T}$. The frame-independent coefficient $\tilde{\lambda}$ is strongly negative at all $p_{T}$ in all frames. The data are compared to the theoretical predictions provided by nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics models.
A. Adare, C. Aidala, N.N. Ajitanand, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, K. Aoki, N. Apadula, H. Asano, C. Ayuso, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, M. Bai, N.S. Bandara, B. Bannier, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, S. Beckman, et al (343) Sep 22 2016
nucl-ex arXiv:1609.06550v2
The PHENIX Collaboration has measured the ratio of the yields of $\psi(2S)$ to $\psi(1S)$ mesons produced in $p$$+$$p$, $p$$+$Al, $p$$+$Au, and $^{3}$He$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV over the forward and backward rapidity intervals $1.2<|y|<2.2$. We find that the ratio in $p$$+$$p$ collisions is consistent with measurements at other collision energies. In collisions with nuclei, we find that in the forward ($p$-going or $^{3}$He-going) direction, the relative yield of $\psi(2S)$ mesons to $\psi(1S)$ mesons is consistent with the value measured in \pp collisions. However, in the backward (nucleus-going) direction, the $\psi(2S)$ is preferentially suppressed by a factor of $\sim$2. This suppression is attributed in some models to breakup of the weakly-bound $\psi(2S)$ through final state interactions with comoving particles, which have a higher density in the nucleus-going direction. These breakup effects may compete with color screening in a deconfined quark-gluon plasma to produce sequential suppression of excited quarkonia states.
A. Adare, C. Aidala, N.N. Ajitanand, Y. Akiba, R. Akimoto, J. Alexander, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, K. Aoki, N. Apadula, Y. Aramaki, H. Asano, E.T. Atomssa, T.C. Awes, C. Ayuso, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, M. Bai, X. Bai, N.S. Bandara, et al (449) Dihadron and isolated direct photon-hadron angular correlations are measured in $p$$+$$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=510$ GeV. Correlations of charged hadrons of $0.7<p_T<10$ GeV/$c$ with $\pi^0$ mesons of $4<p_T<15$ GeV/$c$ or isolated direct photons of $7<p_T<15$ GeV/$c$ are used to study nonperturbative effects generated by initial-state partonic transverse momentum and final-state transverse momentum from fragmentation. The nonperturbative behavior is characterized by measuring the out-of-plane transverse momentum component $p_{\rm out}$ perpendicular to the axis of the trigger particle, which is the high-$p_T$ direct photon or $\pi^0$. Nonperturbative evolution effects are extracted from Gaussian fits to the away-side inclusive-charged-hadron yields for different trigger-particle transverse momenta ($p_T^{\rm trig}$). The Gaussian widths and root mean square of $p_{\rm out}$ are reported as a function of the interaction hard scale $p_T^{\rm trig}$ to investigate possible transverse-momentum-dependent evolution differences between the $\pi^0$-h$^\pm$ and direct photon-h$^\pm$ correlations and factorization breaking effects. The widths are found to decrease with $p_T^{\rm trig}$, which indicates that the Collins-Soper-Sterman soft factor is not driving the evolution with the hard scale in nearly back-to-back dihadron and direct photon-hadron production in $p$$+$$p$ collisions. This behavior is in contrast to Drell-Yan and semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering measurements.
C. Aidala, Y. Akiba, M. Alfred, V. Andrieux, N. Apadula, H. Asano, B. Azmoun, V. Babintsev, N.S. Bandara, K.N. Barish, S. Bathe, A. Bazilevsky, M. Beaumier, R. Belmont, A. Berdnikov, Y. Berdnikov, D.S. Blau, J.S. Bok, M.L. Brooks, J. Bryslawskyj, et al (255) Sep 12 2016
nucl-ex arXiv:1609.02894v2
We present the first measurements of long-range angular correlations and the transverse momentum dependence of elliptic flow $v_2$ in high-multiplicity $p$$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. A comparison of these results with previous measurements in high-multiplicity $d$$+$Au and $^3{\rm He}$$+$Au collisions demonstrates a relation between $v_2$ and the initial collision eccentricity $\varepsilon_2$, suggesting that the observed momentum-space azimuthal anisotropies in these small systems have a collective origin and reflect the initial geometry. Good agreement is observed between the measured $v_2$ and hydrodynamic calculations for all systems, and an argument disfavoring theoretical explanations based on momentum-space domain correlations is presented. The set of measurements presented here allows us to leverage the distinct intrinsic geometry of each of these systems to distinguish between different theoretical descriptions of the long-range correlations observed in small collision systems.