Particle production at RHIC energies

This paper presents recent results from the BRAHMS experiment at RHIC; including results on particle production in rapidity space extending from y=0 to y ~ 3 and on the transverse momentum distribution of fully identified charged particles. These results were obtained from the 5% most central Au-Au collisions recorded during RHIC Run-2 at sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200 GeV.Comment: Four pages, 3 figures to appear in the Proceedings of the CIPANP 2003 conferenc

The ring imaging Cherenkov detector for the BRAHMS experiment at RHIC

A ring imaging Cherenkov counter, to be read out by four 100-channel PMTs, is a key element of the BRAHMS experiment. We report here the most recent results obtained tested at the BNL AGS using several radiator gases, including the heavy fluorocarbon C4F10. Ring radii were measured for different particles (pions, muons, and electrons) for momenta ranging from 2 to 12 GeV/c employing pure C4F10 as radiator.Comment: 3 pages 3 figure

Rho Meson Diffraction off Au Nuclei

The STAR Ultra Peripheral Collisions program has collected a substantial sample of $\rho$ mesons and for the first time at RHIC energies it has been able to extract the distribution of momentum transfer t from diffractive elastic scattering off the Au ion. The resulting diffraction pattern is consistent with coherent scattering off a nuclear object the size of the Au nuclei. Measurements of this nature can offer insights and guidance to the ongoing preparations for the new electron ion programs.Comment: 8 pages 11 figures, submitted to the proceedings of the 28th Winter Workshop on Nuclear Dynamic

Charged Particle Production at High Rapidity in p+p Collisions at RHIC

This report describes the recent analysis of identified charged particle production at high rapidity performed on data collected from p+p collisions at RHIC (sqrt{s}=200 GeV). The extracted invariant cross-sections compare well to NLO pQCD calculations. However, a puzzling high yield of protons at high rapidity and p_T has been found.Comment: 5 pages, four figures. The labels of the x-axis in figure 1 have been correcte

High Rapidity Physics with the BRAHMS Experiment

We report the study of the nuclear modification factor R_{AuAu} as function of pT and pseudo-rapidity in Au+Au collisions at top RHIC energy. We find this quantity almost independent of pseudo-rapidity. We use the pbar/pi- ratio as a probe of the parton density and the degree of thermalization of the medium formed by the collision. The pbar/pi- ratio has a clear rapidity dependence. The combination of these two measurements suggests that the pseudo-rapidity dependence of the R_{AuAu results from the competing effects of energy loss in a dense and opaque medium and the modifications of the wave function of the high energy beams in the initial state.Comment: 5 pages, four figures, to appear in the proceedings of the 9th Conference on the Intersections of Particle and Nuclear Physics (CIPANP 2006), Puerto Rico, 30 May - 3 June 200

BRAHMS Overview

A brief review of BRAHMS measurements of bulk particle production in RHIC Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200GeV$ is presented, together with some discussion of baryon number transport. Intermediate $p_{T}$ measurements in different collision systems (Au+Au, d+Au and p+p) are also discussed in the context of jet quenching and saturation of the gluon density in Au ions at RHIC energies. This report also includes preliminary results for identified particles at forward rapidities in d+Au and Au+Au collisions.Comment: 8 pages 6 figures, Invited plenary talk at 5th International Conference on Physics and Astrophysics of Quark Gluon Plasma (ICPAQGP 2005), Salt Lake City, Kolkata, India, 8-12 Feb 200

Recent results from BRAHMS

The BRAHMS collaboration ended its data collection program in 2006. We are now well advanced in the analysis of a comprehensive set of data that spans systems ranging in mass from p+p to Au+Au and in energy from $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 62.4$ to 200 GeV. Our analysis has taken two distinct paths: we explore the rapidity dependence of intermediate and high-transverse-momentum, identified-particle production, thus helping to characterize the strongly-interacting quark-gluon plasma (sQGP) formed at RHIC; we also explore particle yields at lower transverse momentum to develop a systematic understanding of bulk particle production at RHIC energies.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, presented at the 20th International Conference on Ultra-Relativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions, "Quark Matter 2008", Jaipur, India, February 4-10, 200

The BRAHMS ring imaging Cherenkov detector

A Ring Imaging \v{C}erenkov detector built for the BRAHMS experiment at the Brookhaven RHIC is described. This detector has a high index of refraction gas radiator. \v{C}erenkov light is focused on a photo-multiplier based photon detector with a large spherical mirror. The combination of momentum and ring radius measurement provides particle identification from 2.5 GeV/c up to 35 GeV/c for pions and kaons and well above 40 GeV/c for protons during runs that had the radiator index of refraction set at $n-1=1700 \times 10^{-6}$

Review of Forward Physics at RHIC

The RHIC high energy collision of species ranging from p+p, p(d)+A to A+A provide access to the {small-x} component of the hadron wave function. The RHIC program has brought renewed interest in that subject with its ability to reach values of the parton momentum fraction smaller than 0.01 with studies of particle production at high rapidity. Furthermore, the use of heavy nuclei in the p(d)+A collisions facilitates the study of saturation effects in the gluonic component of the nuclei because the appropriate scale for that regime grows as A^1/3. We review the experimental results of the RHIC program that have relevance to {small-x} emphasizing the physics extracted from d+Au collisions and their comparison to p+p collisions at the same energy.Comment: Invited talk presented at the International Conference on Strong and Electroweak Matter (SEWM 2006), Upton, New York, 10-13 May 200

In-beam Tests of a Ring Imaging Cerenkov Detector With a Multianode Photomultiplier Readout

A ring-imaging \v{C}erenkov counter read out by a 100-channel PMT of active area 10$\times$10 cm$^2$ was operated successfully in a test beam at the BNL AGS with several radiator gases, including the heavy fluorocarbon C$_4$F$_{10}$. Ring radii were measured for electrons, muons, pions and kaons over the particle momentum range from 2 to 12 GeV/$c$, and a best resolution of $\sigma_r/r = 2.3\%$ was obtained.Comment: 11 pages (LaTeX) plus 7 figures in Postscript (gz-compressed and uuencoded