631 research outputs found
The STAR Time Projection Chamber: A Unique Tool for Studying High Multiplicity Events at RHIC
The STAR Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is used to record collisions at the
Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The TPC is the central element in a
suite of detectors that surrounds the interaction vertex. The TPC provides
complete coverage around the beam-line, and provides complete tracking for
charged particles within +- 1.8 units of pseudo-rapidity of the center-of-mass
frame. Charged particles with momenta greater than 100 MeV/c are recorded.
Multiplicities in excess of 3,000 tracks per event are routinely reconstructed
in the software. The TPC measures 4 m in diameter by 4.2 m long, making it the
largest TPC in the world.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figure
Energy dependence of acceptance-corrected dielectron excess mass spectrum at mid-rapidity in Au+Au collisions at and 200 GeV
The acceptance-corrected dielectron excess mass spectra, where the known
hadronic sources have been subtracted from the inclusive dielectron mass
spectra, are reported for the first time at mid-rapidity in
minimum-bias Au+Au collisions at = 19.6 and 200 GeV. The excess
mass spectra are consistently described by a model calculation with a broadened
spectral function for GeV/. The integrated
dielectron excess yield at = 19.6 GeV for
GeV/, normalized to the charged particle multiplicity at mid-rapidity, has
a value similar to that in In+In collisions at = 17.3 GeV. For
= 200 GeV, the normalized excess yield in central collisions is
higher than that at = 17.3 GeV and increases from peripheral to
central collisions. These measurements indicate that the lifetime of the hot,
dense medium created in central Au+Au collisions at = 200 GeV
is longer than those in peripheral collisions and at lower energies.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Long-range pseudorapidity dihadron correlations in +Au collisions at GeV
Dihadron angular correlations in +Au collisions at
GeV are reported as a function of the measured zero-degree calorimeter neutral
energy and the forward charged hadron multiplicity in the Au-beam direction. A
finite correlated yield is observed at large relative pseudorapidity
() on the near side (i.e. relative azimuth ). This
correlated yield as a function of appears to scale with the
dominant, primarily jet-related, away-side () yield. The
Fourier coefficients of the correlation, , have a strong dependence. In addition, it is
found that is approximately inversely proportional to the mid-rapidity
event multiplicity, while is independent of it with similar magnitude
in the forward (-going) and backward (Au-going) directions.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
Isolation of Flow and Nonflow Correlations by Two- and Four-Particle Cumulant Measurements of Azimuthal Harmonics in 200 GeV Au+Au Collisions
A data-driven method was applied to measurements of Au+Au collisions at
200 GeV made with the STAR detector at RHIC to isolate
pseudorapidity distance -dependent and -independent
correlations by using two- and four-particle azimuthal cumulant measurements.
We identified a component of the correlation that is -independent,
which is likely dominated by anisotropic flow and flow fluctuations. It was
also found to be independent of within the measured range of
pseudorapidity . The relative flow fluctuation was found to be for particles of transverse momentum
less than GeV/. The -dependent part may be attributed to
nonflow correlations, and is found to be relative to the
flow of the measured second harmonic cumulant at
System size and energy dependence of near-side di-hadron correlations
Two-particle azimuthal () and pseudorapidity ()
correlations using a trigger particle with large transverse momentum () in
+Au, Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at =\xspace 62.4 GeV and
200~GeV from the STAR experiment at RHIC are presented. The \ns correlation is
separated into a jet-like component, narrow in both and
, and the ridge, narrow in but broad in .
Both components are studied as a function of collision centrality, and the
jet-like correlation is studied as a function of the trigger and associated
. The behavior of the jet-like component is remarkably consistent for
different collision systems, suggesting it is produced by fragmentation. The
width of the jet-like correlation is found to increase with the system size.
The ridge, previously observed in Au+Au collisions at = 200
GeV, is also found in Cu+Cu collisions and in collisions at
=\xspace 62.4 GeV, but is found to be substantially smaller at
=\xspace 62.4 GeV than at = 200 GeV for the
same average number of participants ().
Measurements of the ridge are compared to models.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Charged-to-neutral correlation at forward rapidity in Au+Au collisions at =200 GeV
Event-by-event fluctuations of the ratio of inclusive charged to photon
multiplicities at forward rapidity in Au+Au collision at =200
GeV have been studied. Dominant contribution to such fluctuations is expected
to come from correlated production of charged and neutral pions. We search for
evidences of dynamical fluctuations of different physical origins. Observables
constructed out of moments of multiplicities are used as measures of
fluctuations. Mixed events and model calculations are used as baselines.
Results are compared to the dynamical net-charge fluctuations measured in the
same acceptance. A non-zero statistically significant signal of dynamical
fluctuations is observed in excess to the model prediction when charged
particles and photons are measured in the same acceptance. We find that, unlike
dynamical net-charge fluctuation, charge-neutral fluctuation is not dominated
by correlation due to particle decay. Results are compared to the expectations
based on the generic production mechanism of pions due to isospin symmetry, for
which no significant (<1%) deviation is observed.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure
Measurements of and Production in + Collisions at = 200 GeV
We report measurements of charmed-hadron (, ) production cross
sections at mid-rapidity in + collisions at a center-of-mass energy of
200 GeV by the STAR experiment. Charmed hadrons were reconstructed via the
hadronic decays , and their charge conjugates,
covering the range of 0.62.0 GeV/ and 2.06.0 GeV/ for
and , respectively. From this analysis, the charm-pair production cross
section at mid-rapidity is = 170 45
(stat.) (sys.) b. The extracted charm-pair cross section is
compared to perturbative QCD calculations. The transverse momentum differential
cross section is found to be consistent with the upper bound of a Fixed-Order
Next-to-Leading Logarithm calculation.Comment: 15 pages, 16 figures. Revised version submitted to Phys. Rev.
Measurements of Dihadron Correlations Relative to the Event Plane in Au+Au Collisions at GeV
Dihadron azimuthal correlations containing a high transverse momentum (\pt)
trigger particle are sensitive to the properties of the nuclear medium created
at RHIC through the strong interactions occurring between the traversing parton
and the medium, i.e. jet-quenching. Previous measurements revealed a strong
modification to dihadron azimuthal correlations in Au+Au collisions with
respect to \pp\ and \dAu\ collisions. The modification increases with the
collision centrality, suggesting a path-length dependence to the jet-quenching
effect. This paper reports STAR measurements of dihadron azimuthal correlations
in mid-central (20-60\%) Au+Au collisions at \snn=200~GeV as a function of
the trigger particle's azimuthal angle relative to the event plane,
\phis=|\phit-\psiEP|. The azimuthal correlation is studied as a function of
both the trigger and associated particle \pt. The subtractions of the
combinatorial background and anisotropic flow, assuming Zero Yield At Minimum
(\zyam), are described. The away-side correlation is strongly modified, and the
modification varies with \phis, which is expected to be related to the
path-length that the away-side parton traverses. The pseudo-rapidity (\deta)
dependence of the near-side correlation, sensitive to long range \deta
correlations (the ridge), is also investigated. The ridge and jet-like
components of the near-side correlation are studied as a function of \phis.
The ridge appears to drop with increasing \phis while the jet-like component
remains approximately constant. ...Comment: 50 pages, 39 figures, 6 table
Beam energy dependent two-pion interferometry and the freeze-out eccentricity of pions in heavy ion collisions at STAR
We present results of analyses of two-pion interferometry in Au+Au collisions
at = 7.7, 11.5, 19.6, 27, 39, 62.4 and 200 GeV measured in the
STAR detector as part of the RHIC Beam Energy Scan program. The extracted
correlation lengths (HBT radii) are studied as a function of beam energy,
azimuthal angle relative to the reaction plane, centrality, and transverse mass
() of the particles. The azimuthal analysis allows extraction of the
eccentricity of the entire fireball at kinetic freeze-out. The energy
dependence of this observable is expected to be sensitive to changes in the
equation of state. A new global fit method is studied as an alternate method to
directly measure the parameters in the azimuthal analysis. The eccentricity
shows a monotonic decrease with beam energy that is qualitatively consistent
with the trend from all model predictions and quantitatively consistent with a
hadronic transport model.Comment: 27 pages; 27 figure
Beam-energy dependence of charge separation along the magnetic field in Au+Au collisions at RHIC
Local parity-odd domains are theorized to form inside a Quark-Gluon-Plasma
(QGP) which has been produced in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. The local
parity-odd domains manifest themselves as charge separation along the magnetic
field axis via the chiral magnetic effect (CME). The experimental observation
of charge separation has previously been reported for heavy-ion collisions at
the top RHIC energies. In this paper, we present the results of the beam-energy
dependence of the charge correlations in Au+Au collisions at midrapidity for
center-of-mass energies of 7.7, 11.5, 19.6, 27, 39 and 62.4 GeV from the STAR
experiment. After background subtraction, the signal gradually reduces with
decreased beam energy, and tends to vanish by 7.7 GeV. The implications of
these results for the CME will be discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Phys. Rev. Lett (more model
comparisons have been added in version 2
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