27 research outputs found
Experimental and Theoretical Challenges in the Search for the Quark Gluon Plasma: The STAR Collaboration's Critical Assessment of the Evidence from RHIC Collisions
We review the most important experimental results from the first three years
of nucleus-nucleus collision studies at RHIC, with emphasis on results from the
STAR experiment, and we assess their interpretation and comparison to theory.
The theory-experiment comparison suggests that central Au+Au collisions at RHIC
produce dense, rapidly thermalizing matter characterized by: (1) initial energy
densities above the critical values predicted by lattice QCD for establishment
of a Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP); (2) nearly ideal fluid flow, marked by
constituent interactions of very short mean free path, established most
probably at a stage preceding hadron formation; and (3) opacity to jets. Many
of the observations are consistent with models incorporating QGP formation in
the early collision stages, and have not found ready explanation in a hadronic
framework. However, the measurements themselves do not yet establish
unequivocal evidence for a transition to this new form of matter. The
theoretical treatment of the collision evolution, despite impressive successes,
invokes a suite of distinct models, degrees of freedom and assumptions of as
yet unknown quantitative consequence. We pose a set of important open
questions, and suggest additional measurements, at least some of which should
be addressed in order to establish a compelling basis to conclude definitively
that thermalized, deconfined quark-gluon matter has been produced at RHIC.Comment: 101 pages, 37 figures; revised version to Nucl. Phys.
Energy and system size dependence of \phi meson production in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions
We study the beam-energy and system-size dependence of \phi meson production
(using the hadronic decay mode \phi -- K+K-) by comparing the new results from
Cu+Cu collisions and previously reported Au+Au collisions at \sqrt{s_NN} = 62.4
and 200 GeV measured in the STAR experiment at RHIC. Data presented are from
mid-rapidity (|y|<0.5) for 0.4 < pT < 5 GeV/c. At a given beam energy, the
transverse momentum distributions for \phi mesons are observed to be similar in
yield and shape for Cu+Cu and Au+Au colliding systems with similar average
numbers of participating nucleons. The \phi meson yields in nucleus-nucleus
collisions, normalised by the average number of participating nucleons, are
found to be enhanced relative to those from p+p collisions with a different
trend compared to strange baryons. The enhancement for \phi mesons is observed
to be higher at \sqrt{s_NN} = 200 GeV compared to 62.4 GeV. These observations
for the produced \phi(s\bar{s}) mesons clearly suggest that, at these collision
energies, the source of enhancement of strange hadrons is related to the
formation of a dense partonic medium in high energy nucleus-nucleus collisions
and cannot be alone due to canonical suppression of their production in smaller
systems.Comment: 20 pages and 5 figure
Jet size dependence of single jet suppression in lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s(NN)) = 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC
Measurements of inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions at the LHC
provide direct sensitivity to the physics of jet quenching. In a sample of
lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s) = 2.76 TeV corresponding to an integrated
luminosity of approximately 7 inverse microbarns, ATLAS has measured jets with
a calorimeter over the pseudorapidity interval |eta| < 2.1 and over the
transverse momentum range 38 < pT < 210 GeV. Jets were reconstructed using the
anti-kt algorithm with values for the distance parameter that determines the
nominal jet radius of R = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5. The centrality dependence of
the jet yield is characterized by the jet "central-to-peripheral ratio," Rcp.
Jet production is found to be suppressed by approximately a factor of two in
the 10% most central collisions relative to peripheral collisions. Rcp varies
smoothly with centrality as characterized by the number of participating
nucleons. The observed suppression is only weakly dependent on jet radius and
transverse momentum. These results provide the first direct measurement of
inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions and complement previous
measurements of dijet transverse energy imbalance at the LHC.Comment: 15 pages plus author list (30 pages total), 8 figures, 2 tables,
submitted to Physics Letters B. All figures including auxiliary figures are
available at
http://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/HION-2011-02
System size dependence of associated yields in hadron-triggered jets
We present results on the system size dependence of high transverse momentum
di-hadron correlations at = 200 GeV as measured by STAR at
RHIC. Measurements in d+Au, Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions reveal similar jet-like
correlation yields at small angular separation (,
) for all systems and centralities. Previous measurements have
shown that the away-side yield is suppressed in heavy-ion collisions. We
present measurements of the away-side suppression as a function of transverse
momentum and centrality in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions. The suppression is found
to be similar in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at a similar number of
participants. The results are compared to theoretical calculations based on the
parton quenching model and the modified fragmentation model. The observed
differences between data and theory indicate that the correlated yields
presented here will provide important constraints on medium density profile and
energy loss model parameters.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure
Energy dependence of charged pion, proton and anti-proton transverse momentum spectra for Au+Au collisions at \sqrt{s_NN} = 62.4 and 200 GeV
We study the energy dependence of the transverse momentum (pT) spectra for
charged pions, protons and anti-protons for Au+Au collisions at \sqrt{s_NN} =
62.4 and 200 GeV. Data are presented at mid-rapidity (|y| < 0.5) for 0.2 < pT <
12 GeV/c. In the intermediate pT region (2 < pT < 6 GeV/c), the nuclear
modification factor is higher at 62.4 GeV than at 200 GeV, while at higher pT
(pT >7 GeV/c) the modification is similar for both energies. The p/pi+ and
pbar/pi- ratios for central collisions at \sqrt{s_NN} = 62.4 GeV peak at pT ~ 2
GeV/c. In the pT range where recombination is expected to dominate, the p/pi+
ratios at 62.4 GeV are larger than at 200 GeV, while the pbar/pi- ratios are
smaller. For pT > 2 GeV/c, the pbar/pi- ratios at the two beam energies are
independent of pT and centrality indicating that the dependence of the pbar/pi-
ratio on pT does not change between 62.4 and 200 GeV. These findings challenge
various models incorporating jet quenching and/or constituent quark
coalescence.Comment: 19 pages and 6 figure
On the one-phase reduction of the Stefan problem with a variable phase change temperature
A convenient preparaton ofγ-lactones and dialkyltetrahydrofurans from the reaction of fatty acids with epoxides using lithium naphthalenide
Bias-correcting the realized range-based variance in the presence of market microstructure noise
Bias correction, Integrated variance, Market microstructure noise, Realized range-based variance, Realized variance, 62E20, 62P20, C10, C80,