2,283 research outputs found
An Experimental Exploration of the QCD Phase Diagram: The Search for the Critical Point and the Onset of De-confinement
The QCD phase diagram lies at the heart of what the RHIC Physics Program is
all about. While RHIC has been operating very successfully at or close to its
maximum energy for almost a decade, it has become clear that this collider can
also be operated at lower energies down to 5 GeV without extensive upgrades. An
exploration of the full region of beam energies available at the RHIC facility
is imperative. The STAR detector, due to its large uniform acceptance and
excellent particle identification capabilities, is uniquely positioned to carry
out this program in depth and detail. The first exploratory beam energy scan
(BES) run at RHIC took place in 2010 (Run 10), since several STAR upgrades,
most importantly a full barrel Time of Flight detector, are now completed which
add new capabilities important for the interesting physics at BES energies. In
this document we discuss current proposed measurements, with estimations of the
accuracy of the measurements given an assumed event count at each beam energy.Comment: 59 pages, 78 figure
Longitudinal Spin Transfer to and Hyperons in Polarized Proton-Proton Collisions at = 200 GeV
The longitudinal spin transfer, , from high energy polarized protons
to and hyperons has been measured for the first time
in proton-proton collisions at with the STAR
detector at RHIC. The measurements cover pseudorapidity, , in the range
and transverse momenta, , up to . The longitudinal spin transfer is found to be for inclusive
and for
inclusive hyperons with and . The dependence on and is presented.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Observation of charge-dependent azimuthal correlations and possible local strong parity violation in heavy ion collisions
Parity-odd domains, corresponding to non-trivial topological solutions of the
QCD vacuum, might be created during relativistic heavy-ion collisions. These
domains are predicted to lead to charge separation of quarks along the orbital
momentum of the system created in non-central collisions. To study this effect,
we investigate a three particle mixed harmonics azimuthal correlator which is a
\P-even observable, but directly sensitive to the charge separation effect. We
report measurements of this observable using the STAR detector in Au+Au and
Cu+Cu collisions at =200 and 62~GeV. The results are presented
as a function of collision centrality, particle separation in rapidity, and
particle transverse momentum. A signal consistent with several of the
theoretical expectations is detected in all four data sets. We compare our
results to the predictions of existing event generators, and discuss in detail
possible contributions from other effects that are not related to parity
violation.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, as accepted for publication in Physical Review
C
Studies of di-jet survival and surface emission bias in Au+Au collisions via angular correlations with respect to back-to-back leading hadrons
We report first results from an analysis based on a new multi-hadron
correlation technique, exploring jet-medium interactions and di-jet surface
emission bias at RHIC. Pairs of back-to-back high transverse momentum hadrons
are used for triggers to study associated hadron distributions. In contrast
with two- and three-particle correlations with a single trigger with similar
kinematic selections, the associated hadron distribution of both trigger sides
reveals no modification in either relative pseudo-rapidity or relative
azimuthal angle from d+Au to central Au+Au collisions. We determine associated
hadron yields and spectra as well as production rates for such correlated
back-to-back triggers to gain additional insights on medium properties.Comment: By the STAR Collaboration. 6 pages, 2 figure
Charged and strange hadron elliptic flow in Cu+Cu collisions at = 62.4 and 200 GeV
We present the results of an elliptic flow analysis of Cu+Cu collisions
recorded with the STAR detector at 62.4 and 200GeV. Elliptic flow as a function
of transverse momentum is reported for different collision centralities for
charged hadrons and strangeness containing hadrons , ,
, in the midrapidity region . Significant reduction in
systematic uncertainty of the measurement due to non-flow effects has been
achieved by correlating particles at midrapidity, , with those at
forward rapidity, . We also present azimuthal correlations in
p+p collisions at 200 GeV to help estimating non-flow effects. To study the
system-size dependence of elliptic flow, we present a detailed comparison with
previously published results from Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV. We observe that
() of strange hadrons has similar scaling properties as were
first observed in Au+Au collisions, i.e.: (i) at low transverse momenta,
, scales with transverse kinetic energy, , and
(ii) at intermediate , , it scales with the number of
constituent quarks, . We have found that ideal hydrodynamic calculations
fail to reproduce the centrality dependence of () for
and . Eccentricity scaled values, , are larger
in more central collisions, suggesting stronger collective flow develops in
more central collisions. The comparison with Au+Au collisions which go further
in density shows depend on the system size, number of
participants . This indicates that the ideal hydrodynamic limit is
not reached in Cu+Cu collisions, presumably because the assumption of
thermalization is not attained.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figure
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
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.
Inclusive pi^0, eta, and direct photon production at high transverse momentum in p+p and d+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV
We report a measurement of high-p_T inclusive pi^0, eta, and direct photon
production in p+p and d+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV at midrapidity (0
gamma gamma were detected in the
Barrel Electromagnetic Calorimeter of the STAR experiment at the Relativistic
Heavy Ion Collider. The eta -> gamma gamma decay was also observed and
constituted the first eta measurement by STAR. The first direct photon cross
section measurement by STAR is also presented, the signal was extracted
statistically by subtracting the pi^0, eta, and omega(782) decay background
from the inclusive photon distribution observed in the calorimeter. The
analysis is described in detail, and the results are found to be in good
agreement with earlier measurements and with next-to-leading order perturbative
QCD calculations.Comment: 28 pages, 30 figures, 6 tables, the updated version that was accepted
by Phys. Rev.
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