The PHENIX measurement of Heavy Flavor via Single Electrons in pp, d-Au, and Au-Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV

Abstract

The PHENIX experiment at RHIC has measured single electron spectra in proton-proton, deuteron-gold and gold-gold collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV. The photonic contribution (photon conversions and Daltiz decays) is subtracted from the inclusive spectra resulting in non-photonic electron spectra. The principal source of non-photonic electrons is the semi-leptonic decay of charm and bottom mesons. The implications for heavy flavor production in hot and cold nuclear systems are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, contribution to the proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Ultra-Relativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (Quark Matter 2004