Two and Three Particle Flavor Dependent Correlations

The PHENIX collaboration has developed novel methodologies for reliable extraction of jet functions from two and three particle azimuthal correlation functions measured at mid-rapidity in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt s=200$ GeV. The extracted jet shape and the yield of jet-associated partner hadrons (per trigger hadron) are found to vary with particle type and collision centrality, indicating a significant effect of the nuclear collision medium on the (di)jet fragmentation process.Comment: Proceedings for Quark Matter 2005 parallel tal

Identification of exotic jet topologies via three particle correlations in PHENIX

Modifications of jet properties resulting from the coupling of jets to the strongly interacting matter produced in RHIC collisions are of great current interest. In recent work, the PHENIX collaboration has applied a novel technique to the analysis of two particle azimuthal correlations which extinguishes the harmonic part of the underlying event revealing the true jet shape. Recent extensions of the method to three particle correlations allow for a more revealing study of jet topologies in Au+Au collisions at ($\sqrt{s_{_{\rm NN}}}$=200 GeV).Comment: Poster presented at Quark Matter 200

Extraction of jet topology using three particle correlations

Recent theoretical studies have indicated that the topological features of away-side jet fragments can be significantly altered by medium-induced modifications. The leading candidates resulting from such modifications are Mach Cones and deflected jets. We show that three particle correlations are able to distinguish between these different modification scenarios. Initial results from an application of the method to Au+Au collisions at RHIC ($\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV) are presented.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figs. Proceedings 2nd International Conference on Hard and Electromagnetic Probes of High-Energy Nuclear Collisions, June 9-16, 2006, Asilomar, Pacific Grove, Californi

Anisotropic flow in 4.2A GeV/c C+Ta collisions

Anisotropic flow of protons and negative pions in 4.2A GeV/c C+Ta collisions is studied using the Fourier analysis of azimuthal distributions. The protons exhibit pronounced directed flow. Directed flow of pions is positive in the entire rapidity interval and indicates that the pions are preferentially emitted in the reaction plane from the target to the projectile. The elliptic flow of protons and negative pions is close to zero. Comparison with the quark-gluon-string model (QGSM) and relativistic transport model (ART 1.0) show that they both yield a flow signature similar to the experimental data.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Two Particle Azimuthal Correlation Measurements in PHENIX

Two particle azimuthal correlation functions are presented for charged hadrons produced in Au-Au collisions at RHIC sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV.The correlation functions indicate sizeable asymmetries and anisotropies. The trend of the asymmetries is compatible with the presence of emission patterns associated with mini-jets. The magnitude and the trend of the differential anisotropies v_2(p_T) and v_2(N_Part), provide important model constraints.Comment: 4 pages 3 fig

Transverse Spin at PHENIX: Results and Prospects

The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), as the world's first and only polarized proton collider, offers a unique environment in which to study the spin structure of the proton. In order to study the proton's transverse spin structure, the PHENIX experiment at RHIC took data with transversely polarized beams in 2001-02 and 2005, and it has plans for further running with transverse polarization in 2006 and beyond. Results from early running as well as prospective measurements for the future will be discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, presented at Transversity 2005, Como, Ital

Measurement of the relative yields of ψ(2S) to ψ(1S) mesons produced at forward and backward rapidity in p+p, p+Al, p+Au, and 3He+Au collisions at √sNN=200 GeV

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

Multi-particle azimuthal correlations for extracting event-by-event elliptic and triangular flow in Au+Au collisions at √sNN = 200 GeV

We present measurements of elliptic and triangular azimuthal anisotropy of charged particles detected at forward rapidity 1 < |η| < 3 in Au+Au collisions at √sNN = 200 GeV, as a function of centrality. The multiparticle cumulant technique is used to obtain the elliptic flow coefficients v2{2}, v2{4}, v2{6}, and v2{8}, and triangular flow coefficients v3{2} and v3{4}. Using the smallvariance limit, we estimate the mean and variance of the event-by-event v2 distribution from v2{2} and v2{4}. In a complementary analysis, we also use a folding procedure to study the distributions of v2 and v3 directly, extracting both the mean and variance. Implications for initial geometrical fluctuations and their translation into the final state momentum distributions are discusse