Abstract

It has been postulated that partonic orbital angular momentum can lead to a significant double-helicity dependence in the net transverse momentum of Drell-Yan dileptons produced in longitudinally polarized p+p collisions. Analogous effects are also expected for dijet production. If confirmed by experiment, this hypothesis, which is based on semiclassical arguments, could lead to a new approach for studying the contributions of orbital angular momentum to the proton spin. We report the first measurement of the double-helicity dependence of the dijet transverse momentum in longitudinally polarized p+p collisions at s=200 GeV from data taken by the PHENIX experiment in 2005 and 2006. The analysis deduces the transverse momentum of the dijet from the widths of the near- and far-side peaks in the azimuthal correlation of the dihadrons. When averaged over the transverse momentum of the triggered particle, the difference of the root mean square of the dijet transverse momentum between like- and unlike-helicity collisions is found to be −37±88stat±14syst MeV/c.Received 6 October 2009DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.81.012002©2010 American Physical Society

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.