T-1018 UCLA Spacordion Tungsten Powder Calorimeter

The present experiments at the BNL-RHIC facility are evolving towards physics goals which require the detection of medium energy electromagnetic particles (photons, electrons, neutral pions, eta mesons, etc.), especially at forward angles. New detectors will place increasing demands on energy resolution, hadron rejection and two-photon resolution and will require large area, high performance electromagnetic calorimeters in a variety of geometries. In the immediate future, either RHIC or JLAB will propose a facility upgrade (Electron-Ion Collider, or EIC) with physics goals such as electron-heavy ion collisions (or p-A collisions) with a wide range of calorimeter requirements. An R and D program based at Brookhaven National Laboratory has awarded the group funding of approximately $110,000 to develop new types of calorimeters for EIC experiments. The UCLA group is developing a method to manufacture very flexible and cost-effective, yet high quality calorimeters based on scintillating fibers and tungsten powder. The design and features of the calorimeter can be briefly stated as follows: an arbitrarily large number of small diameter fibers (< 0.5 mm) are assembled as a matrix and held rigidly in place by a set of precision screens inside an empty container. The container is then back-filled with tungsten powder, compacted on a vibrating table and infused with epoxy under vacuum. The container is then removed. The resulting sub-modules are extremely uniform and achieve roughly the density of pure Lead. The sub-modules are stacked together to achieve a final detector of the desired shape. There is no dead space between sub-modules and the fibers can be in an accordion geometry bent to prevent 'channeling' of the particles due to accidental alignment of their track with the module axis. This technology has the advantage of being modular and inexpensive to the point where the construction work may be divided among groups the size of typical university physics departments. This test run if a proof-of-principle and allows the experiment to improve the design and performance of the final detectors. The experimenters have constructed prototypes of three different designs in order to investigate the characteristics of practical devices such as uniformity, linearity, longitudinal and transverse shower shapes. The first design is an array of 4 x 4 modules intended as a prototype for a practical device to be installed within two years in the STAR experimental hall. The modules are a combination of a spaghetti calorimeter and an accordion (hence 'spacordion'). Each sub-module is 1.44 cm x 1.44 cm x 15 cm and constructed individually. The second design is a prototype of 4 sub-modules constructed in one step, using a different construction technique. The third design is a set of single sub-modules each intended to test variations of the tungsten powder/embedded fiber concept by enhancing the light output/density using liquid scintillator or heavy liquids

Hyperon Polarization along the Beam Direction Relative to the Second and Third Harmonic Event Planes in Isobar Collisions at <math display="inline"><mrow><msqrt><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>s</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>N</mi><mi>N</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></msqrt><mo>=</mo><mn>200</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>GeV</mi></mrow></math>

The polarization of Λ and Λ¯ hyperons along the beam direction has been measured relative to the second and third harmonic event planes in isobar Ru+Ru and Zr+Zr collisions at sNN=200  GeV. This is the first experimental evidence of the hyperon polarization by the triangular flow originating from the initial density fluctuations. The amplitudes of the sine modulation for the second and third harmonic results are comparable in magnitude, increase from central to peripheral collisions, and show a mild pT dependence. The azimuthal angle dependence of the polarization follows the vorticity pattern expected due to elliptic and triangular anisotropic flow, and qualitatively disagrees with most hydrodynamic model calculations based on thermal vorticity and shear induced contributions. The model results based on one of existing implementations of the shear contribution lead to a correct azimuthal angle dependence, but predict centrality and pT dependence that still disagree with experimental measurements. Thus, our results provide stringent constraints on the thermal vorticity and shear-induced contributions to hyperon polarization. Comparison to previous measurements at RHIC and the LHC for the second-order harmonic results shows little dependence on the collision system size and collision energy.The polarization of $\Lambda$ and $\bar{\Lambda}$ hyperons along the beam direction has been measured relative to the second and third harmonic event planes in isobar Ru+Ru and Zr+Zr collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV. This is the first experimental evidence of the hyperon polarization by the triangular flow originating from the initial density fluctuations. The amplitudes of the sine modulation for the second and third harmonic results are comparable in magnitude, increase from central to peripheral collisions, and show a mild $p_T$ dependence. The azimuthal angle dependence of the polarization follows the vorticity pattern expected due to elliptic and triangular anisotropic flow, and qualitatively disagree with most hydrodynamic model calculations based on thermal vorticity and shear induced contributions. The model results based on one of existing implementations of the shear contribution lead to a correct azimuthal angle dependence, but predict centrality and $p_T$ dependence that still disagree with experimental measurements. Thus, our results provide stringent constraints on the thermal vorticity and shear-induced contributions to hyperon polarization. Comparison to previous measurements at RHIC and the LHC for the second-order harmonic results shows little dependence on the collision system size and collision energy