PHENIX Data Research Articles

Elliptic flow of thermal photons from an event-by-event hydrodynamic model

Elliptic flow of direct photons in relativistic heavy ion collisions is believed to be dominated by contribution from thermal radiation of quark gluon plasma up to $p_T$ $\sim 5$ GeV/$c$, although other sources start outshining the thermal contribution at already smaller values of $p_T$ in the direct photon spectrum. The elliptic flow of thermal photons from ideal hydrodynamics considering a smooth initial density distribution under-predicts the PHENIX direct photon data from 200A GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC by a large margin in the range $1 < p_T < 5$ GeV/$c$. However, a significant enhancement of thermal photon production due to fluctuations in the initial QCD matter density distributions is expected. We show that such fluctuations result in substantially larger photon elliptic flow for $p_T > 2.5 $ GeV/$c$ compared to a smooth initial-state-averaged density profile. The results from event-by-event hydrodynamics are found to be sensitive to the fluctuation size parameter. However, the effects of initial state fluctuations are insufficient to account for the discrepancy to the PHENIX data for direct photon elliptic flow. Furthermore, the photon $v_2$ is reduced even more when we include the NLO pQCD prompt photon component. We also calculate the spectra and elliptic flow of thermal photons for 2.76A TeV Pb+Pb collisions at LHC and for the 0--40% centrality bin. Thermal photons from event-by-event hydrodynamics along with prompt photons from NLO pQCD calculations explain the ALICE preliminary direct photon data well in the region $p_T \ge 2.5$ GeV/c. Similar to RHIC, the elliptic flow results at LHC are again found to be much smaller than the ALICE preliminary $v_2$ data.

Modeling the Impact Parameter Dependence of the nPDFs With EKS98 and EPS09 Global Fits

Abstract So far the nuclear PDFs (nPDFs) in the global DGLAP fits have been taken to be spatially independent. In this work [I. Helenius, K. J. Eskola, H. Honkanen, C. A. Salgado, JHEP 1207 (2012) 073], using the A -dependence of the globally fitted sets EPS09 and EKS98, we have determined the spatial dependence of the nPDFs in terms of powers of the nuclear thickness functions. New spatially dependent nPDF sets EPS09s (NLO, LO, error sets) and EKS98s (LO) are released. As an application, we consider the nuclear modification factor R dAu π 0 at midrapidity for neutral pion production in deuteron-gold collisions at RHIC in NLO. Comparison with the PHENIX data in different centrality classes is also shown. In addition, predictions for the corresponding nuclear modification factor R pPb π 0 in proton–lead collisions at the LHC are discussed.

Thermal Radiation Mapping the Space–Time Evolution

Abstract Over the past decade heavy ion experiments at RHIC and now also at LHC uncovered many properties of quark matter produced in collisions of nuclei. Generally, the data is consistent with the formation of a strongly coupled plasma, which is in or close to equilibrium within a fraction of a fm/c; evolves like low viscosity/entropy liquid as described by hydrodynamic models; and is largely opaque to colored probes. Many models have been developed to describe different aspects of the observations. However, the detailed data that is now available present many challenges to theoretical models, which hints towards how incomplete our understanding currently is. In particular, PHENIX data on electromagnetic radiation is seemingly inconsistent with the standard hydrodynamic space-time evolution of strongly interacting matter and requires new sources of radiation early in the collision.

J/ψ suppression in p–A collisions from parton energy loss in cold nuclear matter

Abstract The effects of parton energy loss in cold nuclear matter on J / ψ suppression in p–A collisions are studied. Results obtained in d–Au collisions at RHIC are compared to PHENIX data, and predictions in p–Pb collisions at the LHC are made.

Forward dihadron correlations in the Gaussian approximation of JIMWLK

We compute forward dihadron azimuthal correlations in deuteron-gold collisions using a Gaussian approximation for the quadrupole operator. The double parton scattering contribution is found to be part of our dihadron calculation. We obtain a good description of the PHENIX data for the azimuthal-angle dependent away side peak and a relatively good estimate for the pedestal contribution.

Prevalence, intensity and complications of Microsporidium spores amongst HIV-positive hospital patients in Ilorin, Nigeria.

BackgroundMicrosporidiasis, which is of great concern for immunocompromised patients, is poorly studied in developing countries.ObjectivesA study was carried out amongst HIV-positive hospital patients and HIV-negative hospital controls in Ilorin, Nigeria, between January 2009 and July 2010 to determine the prevalence and intensity of Microsporidium spores and the complications associated with their presence.MethodStool samples from 750 HIV-positive patients and 375 HIV-negative patients were studied using the Chromotrope-2R staining technique. Determination of CD4+ count was performed on the Partec Cyflow SL-3 CD4/8 instrument. Intensity of spores was determined by counting the total number of the spores in a 10 µl stained smear of stool. Images were captured with Phenix Microimage Analysis Software and data obtained were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.ResultsThe prevalence of Microsporidium isolates amongst the HIV-positive hospital patients was significantly higher (42.4%) than amongst the HIV-negative controls (19.2%) (p < 0.05). The intensity of microsporidial spores amongst HIV-positive hospital patients was also significantly higher than amongst the controls (p < 0.05). However, the difference in the intensity of spores amongst HIV-positive patients who were on antiretroviral therapy (n = 411) and those who were not (n = 339) was not significant (p = 0.236). Microsporidiasis in HIV infection infection was common amongst patients with with low CD4+ counts, diarrhoea, body rashes and cough.ConclusionBoth the prevalence and intensity of Microsporidiasis are high amongst HIV-positive hospital patients; campaigns to promote awareness, prevention and control are required. Laboratory testing for microsporidia in HIV patients should be performed routinely so as to identify the organism for prompt medical attention.

Production of photons and dileptons in the Glasma

We study the production of photons and dileptons during the pre-equilibrium Glasma stage in heavy ion collisions and discuss the implications in light of the PHENIX data. We find that the measured distributions of such electromagnetic emissions, while having some features not well understood if hypothesized to entirely arise from a thermalized Quark–Gluon Plasma, have some qualitative features that might be described after including effects from a thermalizing Glasma. The shape and centrality dependence of the transverse momentum spectra of the so-called “thermal photons” are well described. The mass and transverse momentum dependence of intermediate mass dileptons also agree with our estimates. The low transverse momenta from which the excessive dileptons (in low to intermediate mass region) arise is suggestive of emissions from a Bose condensate. We also predict the centrality dependence of dilepton production. Uncertainties in the current approach and improvements in the future are discussed.

Direct photon-hadron and Di-hadron correlations measured in PHENIX

We review results of PHENIX two-particle correlations for both di-hadrons and direct photon hadron pairs. These measurements can reveal details of QGP induced jet energy loss in heavy ion collisions. The spectra of per-trigger yields on the awayside from trigger photons in the photon-hadron correlations or fragmentation function for direct photons of greater than 5 GeV/c in transverse momentum appear to show some modification compared to the same measurement in p+p collisions, including a suppression at high z (> ~0.4), and much less suppression, possibly even enhancement at low z. A framework for calculating parton or jet level observables from the PHENIX 2-particle yields results that can be compared to recent LHC jet reconstruction observables. Under certain assumptions, one of these observables, the mean fractional energy loss, appears to be larger for lower jet energies (~10 GeV) that the PHENIX data is sensitive to, than for much higher energy jets (~100 GeV) at the LHC. However the current PHENIX di-hadron measurements for this comparison which may have inherent biases need to be followed up by higher statistics direct photon-hadron measurements before definite statements could be made.

Direct photon production inp+pcollisions ats=200 GeVat midrapidity

The differential cross section for the production of direct photons in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV at midrapidity was measured in the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Inclusive-direct photons were measured in the transverse-momentum range from 5.5--25 GeV/c, extending the range beyond previous measurements. Event structure was studied with an isolation criterion. Next-to-leading-order perturbative-quantum-chromodynamics calculations give a good description of the spectrum. When the cross section is expressed versus x_T, the PHENIX data are seen to be in agreement with measurements from other experiments at different center-of-mass energies.

Centrality, Rapidity, and Transverse-Momentum Dependence of Gluon Shadowing and Antishadowing on J/ψ Production in dAu Collisions at $${\sqrt{s} = 200}$$ GeV

We have carried out a wide study of shadowing and antishadowing effects on \jpsi\ production in \dAu\ collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV. We have studied the effects of three different gluon nPDF sets, using the exact kinematics for a $2\to 2$ process, namely $g+g\to J/\psi+g$ as expected from LO pQCD. We have computed the rapidity dependence of \RCP\ and $R_{d\rm Au}$ for the different centrality classes of the PHENIX data. For mid rapidities, we have also computed the transverse-momentum dependence of the nuclear modification factor, which cannot be predicted with the usual $2\to 1$ simplified kinematics. All these observables have been compared to the PHENIX data in \dAu\ collisions.

Di-electron production from vector mesons with medium modifications in heavy ion collisions

We reproduce the di-electron spectra in the low and intermediate mass regions in most central Au+Au collisions by the STAR Collaboration incorporation of the STAR detector acceptance. We also compare our results with PHENIX data constrained by the PHENIX acceptance. We include the medium modifications of vector mesons from scatterings of vector mesons by mesons and baryons in the thermal medium. The freezeout contributions from vector mesons are also taken into account. The space-time evolution is described by a 2+1 dimensional ideal hydrodynamic model. The backgrounds from semi-leptonic decays of charm hadrons are simulated by the PYTHIA event generator and corrected by the nuclear modification factor of electrons from charm decays. It is difficult to extract the thermal contributions from those from charm decays in the invariant mass spectra alone and in the current detector acceptances. Other observables such as transverse momenta and collective flows may provide additional tools to tag these sources.

STRONGLY INTERACTING QGP AND QUARKONIUM SUPPRESSION AT RHIC AND LHC ENERGIES

We have developed an equation of state for strongly interacting quark–gluon plasma (QGP) in the framework of strongly coupled plasma with appropriate modifications to take account of color and flavor degrees of freedom and the interactions among themselves. For this purpose we used the effective potential to improve the plasma parameter (Γ) by correcting the full Cornell potential with a dielectric function embodying the effects of the deconfined medium and not its Coulomb part alone and obtain the equation of state in terms of Γ. Our results on thermodynamic observables viz. pressure, energy density, speed of sound etc. nicely fit to the results of lattice equation of state for gluon, massless as well massive flavored plasma. We have then employed our equation of state to estimate the quarkonium suppression in an expanding QGP produced in the relativistic heavy-ion collisions. We have found that our predictions matches with the recent PHENIX data on the centrality dependence of J/ψ suppression in Au+Au collisions at BNL RHIC within the limit of other uncertainties. We have also predicted for the ϒ suppression in Pb+Pb collisions at LHC energy which could be tested in the ALICE experiments at CERN LHC.

Single transverse spin asymmetry of forward neutrons

We calculate the single transverse spin asymmetry $A_N(t)$, for inclusive neutron production in $pp$ collisions at forward rapidities relative to the polarized proton in the energy range of RHIC. Absorptive corrections to the pion pole generate a relative phase between the spin-flip and non-flip amplitudes, leading to a transverse spin asymmetry which is found to be far too small to explain the magnitude of $A_N$ observed in the PHENIX experiment. A larger contribution, which does not vanish at high energies, comes from the interference of pion and $a_1$-Reggeon exchanges. The unnatural parity of $a_1$ guarantees a substantial phase shift, although the magnitude is strongly suppressed by the smallness of diffractive $\pi p\to a_1 p$ cross section. We replace the Regge $a_1$ pole by the Regge cut corresponding to the $\pi\rho$ exchange in the $1^+S$ state. The production of such a state, which we treat as an effective pole $a$, forms a narrow peak in the $3\pi$ invariant mass distribution in diffractive $\pi p$ interactions . The cross section is large, so one can assume that this state saturates the spectral function of the axial current and we can determine its coupling to nucleons via the PCAC Goldberger-Treiman relation and the second Weinberg sum rule. The numerical results of the parameter-free calculation of $A_N$ are in excellent agreement with the PHENIX data.

J/ψ suppression vs centrality at forward and mid-rapidity in Au+Au collisions at RHIC in colour screening mechanism

We extend our previous formalism [Phys. Lett.B 656 45 (2007)] on J/ψ suppression at midrapidity using the colour screening framework. Our formalism is more general as the complete rapidity, transverse momentum and centrality dependence including J/ψ suppression at forward as well as mid-rapidity can be computed directly from it. We have assumed that QGP fluid is expanding obeying Bjorken’s boost invariant scaling law and bag model EOS is used. Sequential melting of χc (1P) as well as ψ′ (2S) higher resonances is incorporated. We find that our model shows a reasonable agreement with the mid and forward rapidity data. Furthermore, we observe a larger suppression at forward rapidity in our model which is again well supported by the PHENIX data.

Enhancement of thermal photon production in event-by-event hydrodynamics

Thermal photon emission is widely believed to reflect properties of the earliest, hottest evolution stage of the medium created in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. Previous computations of photon emission have been carried out using a hydrodynamical medium description with smooth, averaged initial conditions. Recently, more sophisticated hydrodynamical models that calculate observables by averaging over many evolutions with event-by-event fluctuating initial conditions (ICs) have been developed. Given their direct connection to the early time dynamics, thermal photon emission appears to be an ideal observable to probe fluctuations in the medium initial state. In this work, we demonstrate that including fluctuations in the ICs may lead to an enhancement of the thermal photon yield of about a factor of 2 in the region $2&lt;{p}_{T}&lt;4$ GeV$/c$ (where thermal photon production dominates the direct photon yield) compared to a scenario using smooth, averaged ICs. Consequently, a much better agreement with PHENIX data is found. This can be understood in terms of the strong temperature dependence of thermal photon production, translating into a sensitivity to the presence of hotspots in an event and thus establishing thermal photons as a suitable probe to characterize IC fluctuations.

Significant in-mediumη′mass reduction insNN = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

In high energy heavy ion collisions a hot and dense medium is formed, where the U_A(1) or chiral symmetry may temporarily be restored. As a consequence, the mass of the eta'(958) mesons may be reduced to its quark model value, and the abundance of eta' mesons at low p_T may be enhanced by more than a factor of 10. The intercept parameter lambda_* of the charged pion Bose--Einstein correlations provides a sensitive observable of the possibly enhanced eta' abundance. We have analyzed lambda_*(m_T) data from sqrt(s(NN))=200 GeV central Au+Au reactions measured at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), using extensive Monte Carlo simulations based on six popular models for hadronic multiplicities. Based on the combined STAR and PHENIX data set, and on various systematic investigations of resonance multiplicities and model parameters, we conclude that in sqrt(s(NN))=200 GeV central Au+Au reactions the mass of the eta' meson is reduced by Delta m > 200 MeV, at the 99.9% confidence level in the considered model class. Such a significant eta' mass modification may indicate the restoration of the U_A(1) symmetry in a hot and dense hadronic matter and the return of the ninth "prodigal" Goldstone boson. A similar analysis of NA44 S+Pb data at top CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) energies showed no significant in-medium eta' mass modification.

A theoretical review of centrality-dependent direct photon [formula omitted] spectra in Au+Au collisions at [formula omitted

The recently published PHENIX data of direct photons at low p t from Au+Au collisions at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) energy s NN = 200 GeV have attracted much theoretical interest. Here I review our theoretical calculation which successfully reproduces the measured p t spectra of direct photons from Au+Au at different centralities over a wide p t range, in order to show a close relation between hadronic observables and those of direct photons.

PRODUCTION OF D AND B MESONS AND THEIR SEMILEPTONIC DECAYS

We have calculated the kinematical correlations between charged leptons from semileptonic decays of open charm/bottom as well as leptons produced in the Drell-Yan mechanism in proton-proton collisions at BNL RHIC. Presented production rates for open charm and bottom were estimated by a detailed analysis of so-called nonphotonic electrons. The distributions for charm and bottom quarks pairs are calculated in the kt-factorization approach with the help of the Kwieciński unintegrated parton distributions. The hadronization of heavy quarks is done by means of Peterson et al. fragmentation function. The semileptonic decay functions are found by fitting recent semileptonic data obtained by the CLEO and BABAR. We get good description of recent PHENIX data.

In-medium reduction of theη'mass √sNN= 200 GeV Au+Au collisions

A reduction of the mass of the \eta'(958) meson may indicate the restoration of the UA(1) symmetry in a hot and dense hadronic matter, corresponding to the return of the 9th, "prodigal" Goldstone boson. We report on an analysis of a combined PHENIX and STAR data set on the intercept parameter of the two-pion Bose-Einstein correlation functions, as measuremed in \sqrt{s_NN} = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC. To describe this combined PHENIX and STAR dataset, an in-medium \eta' mass reduction of at least 200 MeV is needed, at the 99.9 % confidence level in a broad model class of resonance multiplicities. Energy, system size and centrality dependence of the observed effect is also discussed.

Indirect Observation of an In-Mediumη′Mass Reduction insNN=200 GeVAu+AuCollisions

PHENIX and STAR data on the intercept parameter of the two-pion Bose-Einstein correlation functions in sqrt(s_{NN}) = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions are analyzed in terms of different models of hadronic multiplicities. To describe this combined PHENIX and STAR dataset, an in-medium eta' mass reduction of at least 200 MeV is needed, at the 99.9 % confidence level in the considered model class. Such a significant eta' mass modification may indicate the restoration of the U_A(1) symmetry in a hot and dense hadronic matter and the return of the 9th "prodigal" Goldstone boson.