Centrality dependence of elliptic flow of multi-strange hadrons in Au+Au collisions at √sNN = 200 GeV

Abstract

We present recent results of the mid-rapidity elliptic flow (ν2) for multi-strange hadrons and the ϕ meson as a function of centrality in Au + Au collisions at the center of mass energy √sNN = 200 GeV. The transverse momentum dependence of ϕ and Ω ν2 is similar to that of pion and proton, indicating that the heavier strange (s) quark flows as strongly as the lighter up (u) and down (d) quarks. These observations constitute a clear piece of evidence for the development of partonic collectivity in heavy-ion collisions at the top RHIC energy. In addition, the mass ordering of ν2 breaks between the ϕ and proton at low transverse momenta in the 0-30% centrality bin, possibly due to the effect of late hadronic interactions on the proton ν2.