Measurements of azimuthal anisotropy and charged-particle multiplicity in dd++Au collisions at sNN=\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200, 62.4, 39, and 19.6 GeV

International audienceWe present measurements of the elliptic flow (v2) as a function of transverse momentum (pT), pseudorapidity (η), and centrality in d+Au collisions at sNN=200, 62.4, 39, and 19.6 GeV. The beam-energy scan of d+Au collisions provides a testing ground for the onset of flow signatures in small collision systems. We measure a nonzero v2 signal at all four collision energies, which, at midrapidity and low pT, is consistent with predictions from viscous hydrodynamic models. Comparisons with calculations from parton transport models (based on the ampt Monte Carlo generator) show good agreement with the data at midrapidity to forward (d-going) rapidities and low pT. At backward (Au-going) rapidities and pT>1.5GeV/c, the data diverges from ampt calculations of v2 relative to the initial geometry, indicating the possible dominance of nongeometry related correlations, referred to as nonflow. We also present measurements of the charged-particle multiplicity (dNch/dη) as a function of η in central d+Au collisions at the same energies. We find that in d+Au collisions at sNN=200 GeV the v2 scales with dNch/dη over all η in the PHENIX acceptance. At sNN=62.4, and 39 GeV, v2 scales with dNch/dη at midrapidity and forward rapidity, but falls off at backward rapidity. This departure from the dNch/dη scaling may be a further indication of nonflow effects dominating at backward rapidity

Disentangling centrality bias and final-state effects in the production of high-pTp_Tπ0\pi^0 using direct γ\gamma in dd++Au collisions at sNN=200\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200 GeV

International audiencePHENIX presents a simultaneous measurement of the production of direct $\gamma$ and $\pi^0$ in $d$$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV over a $p_T$ range of 7.5 to 18 GeV/$c$ for different event samples selected by event activity, i.e. charged-particle multiplicity detected at forward rapidity. Direct-photon yields are used to empirically estimate the contribution of hard-scattering processes in the different event samples. Using this estimate, the average nuclear-modification factor $R_{d\rm Au,EXP}^{\gamma^{\rm dir}}$ is $0.925{\pm}0.023({\rm stat}){\pm}0.15^{\rm (scale)}$, consistent with unity for minimum-bias (MB) $d$$+$Au events. For event classes with moderate event activity, $R_{d\rm Au,EXP}^{\gamma^{\rm dir}}$ is consistent with the MB value within 5% uncertainty. These results confirm that the previously observed enhancement of high-$p_T$$\pi^0$ production found in small-system collisions with low event activity is a result of a bias in interpreting event activity within the Glauber framework. In contrast, for the top 5% of events with the highest event activity, $R_{d\rm Au,EXP}^{\gamma^{\rm dir}}$ is suppressed by 20% relative to the MB value with a significance of $4.5\sigma$, which may be due to final-state effects

Creation of quark–gluon plasma droplets with three distinct geometries

International audienceExperimental studies of the collisions of heavy nuclei at relativistic energies have 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 hadrons1–4. In this state, matter behaves as a nearly inviscid fluid5 that efficiently translates initial spatial anisotropies into correlated momentum anisotropies among the particles produced, creating 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 (3He+Au) collisions at a nucleon–nucleon centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt {s_{{\mathrm{NN}}}} = 200$ 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 the best simultaneous description of these measurements

Measurement of ϕ\phi-meson production at forward rapidity in p+pp+p collisions at s=510 GeV\sqrt{s}=510\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{GeV} and its energy dependence from s=200 GeV\sqrt{s}=200\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{GeV} to 7 TeV

International audienceThe PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has measured the differential cross section of ϕ(1020)-meson production at forward rapidity in p+p collisions at s=510  GeV via the dimuon decay channel. The partial cross section in the rapidity and pT ranges 1.2<|y|<2.2 and 2<pT<7  GeV/c is σϕ=[2.28±0.09(stat)±0.14(syst)±0.27(norm)]×10-2  mb. The energy dependence of σϕ (1.2<|y|<2.2,2<pT<5  GeV/c) is studied using the PHENIX measurements at s=200 and 510 GeV and the Large Hadron Collider measurements at s=2.76 and 7 TeV. The experimental results are compared to various event generator predictions (pythia6, pythia8, phojet, ampt, epos3, and epos-lhc)

Measurements of mass-dependent azimuthal anisotropy in central pp++Au, dd++Au, and 3^3He++Au collisions at sNN=200\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200 GeV

International audienceWe present measurements of the transverse-momentum dependence of elliptic flow v2 for identified pions and (anti)protons at midrapidity (|η|<0.35), in 0%–5% central p+Au and He3+Au collisions at sNN=200 GeV. When taken together with previously published measurements in d+Au collisions at sNN=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 v2(pT) in d+Au and He3+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 pT (<1.5GeV/c), but fail to describe various features at higher pT. In all systems, the v2 values follow an approximate quark-number scaling as a function of the hadron transverse kinetic energy per constituent quark (KET/nq), which was also seen previously in A+A collisions

Measurements of second-harmonic Fourier coefficients from azimuthal anisotropies in p+p,pp+p, p+Au dd+Au, and 3^3He + Au collisions at sNN=200\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200 GeV

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/$c$

Kinematic dependence of azimuthal anisotropies in p+Au,p+Au, d+Au,d+Au, and 3He+Au^3He+Au at sNN=200\sqrt{s}_{NN}=200 GeV

International audienceThere is strong evidence for the formation of small droplets of quark-gluon plasma in p/d/He3+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 proved 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

Pseudorapidity Dependence of Particle Production and Elliptic Flow in Asymmetric Nuclear Collisions of p+p+Al, p+p+Au, d+d+Au, and 3^{3}He++Au at sNN=200\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200 GeV

International audienceAsymmetric nuclear collisions of p+Al, p+Au, d+Au, and He3+Au at sNN=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 dNch/dη 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 v2 over a similarly broad pseudorapidity range. These measurements provide key constraints on models of particle emission and their translation into flow