PHENIX Data Research Articles

Charm coalescence at relativistic energies

The J/psi yield at midrapidity at the top RHIC (relativistic heavy ion collider) energy is calculated within the statistical coalescence model, which assumes charmonium formation at the late stage of the reaction from the charm quarks and antiquarks created earlier in hard parton collisions. The results are compared to the new PHENIX data and to predictions of the standard models, which assume formation of charmonia exclusively at the initial stage of the reaction and their subsequent suppression. Two versions of the suppression scenario are considered. One of them assumes gradual charmonium suppression by comovers, while the other one supposes that the suppression sets in abruptly due to quark-gluon plasma formation. Surprisingly, both versions give very similar results. In contrast, the statistical coalescence model predicts a few times larger $J/\psi$ yield in the most central collisions.

Transparent nuclei and deuteron-gold collisions at relativistic energies

The current normalization of the cross section of inclusive high-pT particle production in deuteron-gold collisions measured RHIC relies on Glauber calculations for the inelastic d-Au cross section. These calculations should be corrected for diffraction. Moreover, they miss the Gribov's inelastic shadowing which makes nuclei more transparent (color transparency). The magnitude of this effect rises with energy and it may dramatically affect the normalization of the RHIC data. We evaluate these corrections employing the light-cone dipole formalism and found a rather modest corrections for the current normalization of the d-Au data. The results of experiments insensitive to diffraction (PHENIX, PHOBOS) should be renormalized by about 20% down, while those which include diffraction (STAR), by only 10%. Such a correction completely eliminates the Cronin enhancement in the PHENIX data for pions. The largest theoretical uncertainty comes from the part of the inelastic shadowing which is related to diffractive gluon radiation, or gluon shadowing. Our estimate is adjusted to data for the triple-Pomeron coupling, however, other models do not have such a restrictions and predict much stronger gluon shadowing. Therefore, the current data for high-pT hadron production in d-Au collisions at RHIC cannot exclude in a model independent way the possibility if initial state suppression proposed by Kharzeev-Levin-McLerran. Probably the only way to settle this uncertainty is a direct measurement of the inelastic d-Au cross sections at RHIC. Also d-Au collisions with a tagged spectator nucleon may serve as a sensitive probe for nuclear transparency and inelastic shadowing. We found an illuminating quantum-mechanical effect: the nucleus acts like a lens focusing spectators into a very narrow cone.

The Reconstructed Final State of Au + Au Collisions from PHENIX and STAR Data at [ s ] 1/2 = 130 AGeV - Indication for Quark Deconfinement at RHIC

The final state of Au+Au collisions at √s=130 AGeV at RHIC has been reconstructed within the framework of the Buda-Lund hydrodynamical model, by performing a simultaneous fit to final data on twoparticle Bose-Einstein correlations of the STAR and PHENIX Collaboration, and final identified single-particle spectra as measured by the PHENIX Collaboration. The results indicate a strongly three dimensional expansion, with a four-velocity field that is almost a spherically symmetric Hubble flow. We find large transverse geometrical source sizes, R G=9.8±1.2 fm, relatively short mean freeze-out time, τ0=6.1±0.3 fm/c and a short duration of particle emission, Δτ=0.02±1.5 fm/c. Most strikingsly, we find an indication for a hot central part of the hydrodynamically evolving core, characterized by a central temperature T 0=202±13 MeV that is close to (or even above) the deconfinement temperature of the quark-hadron phase transition. The best fit indicates a cold surface temperature T s=110±16 MeV. When the possibility of the hot center is excluded, the confidence level of the fit decreases from 28.9% to 1.0%. Predictions are made for the rapidity dependence of the slope parameters and for the transverse mass depedence of the rapidity width of the single-particle spectra, and the transverse mass dependence of the non-identical particle correlations.

Charge fluctuations in Au+Au collisions at RHIC energy

A hadron and string cascade model, JPCIAE, together with the corresponding Monte Carlo event generator, has been employed in this paper to investigate further the charge fluctuations in Au+Au collisions at √ s nn = 130 GeV. The default JPCIAE calculations are in good agreement with PHENIX and STAR data. We found that the thermal predictions for the π gas, the resonance π gas and quark matter deviate, respectively. from the corresponding dynamical simulations from the JPCIAE model. The discrepancies were also found between the π charge fluctuations and the charge fluctuations of all species of hadrons. However the charge fluctuations for “π from ρ and ω decay” and for all the hadrons from resonance decay are close to each other, indicating the correlation between positively and negatively charged hardrons is not sensitive to the species of hardrons. This work shows further that it is questionable to use the charge fluctuations as a signature of QGP.

PHENIX central arm particle ID detectors

The Ring-Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) and the Time-of-Flight (ToF) systems provide identification of charged particles for the PHENIX central arm. The RICH is located between the inner and outer tracking units and is one of the primary devices for identifying electrons among the very large number of charged pions. The ToF is used to identify hadrons and is located between the most outer pad chamber (PC3) and the electromagnetic calorimeter. A Time Zero (T0) counter that enhances charged particle measurements in p–p collisions is described. Details of the construction and performance of both the RICH, ToF and T0 are given along with typical results from the first PHENIX data taking run.

Behavior of charge fluctuations in relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions

Using a hadron and string cascade model JPCIAE we have investigated the dependence of event-by-event charge fluctuations on (pseudo)rapidity window size, final state interaction, resonance decay, centrality, and reaction energy for Pb+Pb collisions at SPS and LHC energies and for Au+Au collisions at RHIC energies. The JPCIAE results of the charge fluctuations as a function of rapidity window size in Pb+Pb collisions at SPS energies are compared with the preliminary NA49 data. Comparisons with PHENIX and STAR data in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{{s}_{\mathrm{nn}}}=130\mathrm{GeV}$ are also given. It is found that the charge fluctuations hardly depend on collision centrality except for very peripheral collisions and are rather insensitive to the change of reaction energy. Our calculations also show that the charge fluctuations are not strongly affected by the final state interaction and the resonance decay.

A perturbative QCD analysis of charged-particle distributions in hadronic and nuclear collisions

We compute the distributions of charged particles at large transverse momenta in p p ̄ (p) , pA and AA collisions in the framework of perturbative QCD, by using collinear factorization and the modern PDFs and fragmentation functions. At the highest cms-energies the shape of the spectra measured in p p ̄ (p) collisions at large q T can be well explained. The difference between the data and the lowest-order computation is quantified in terms of a constant K-factor for each energy. The K-factor is found to systematically decrease with growing s . Also a lower limit for the partonic transverse momentum, p 0 , is extracted for each s based on the comparison with the measurements. A systematic increase of p 0 as a function of s is found. Nuclear effects in the charged-particle spectra in pA and AA collisions at RHIC and LHC are studied in the framework of collinear factorization by applying the EKS98 nuclear corrections to the parton distributions. The nuclear effects are shown to mostly enhance the computed spectra. A comparison with the recent PHENIX data from central and peripheral Au +Au collisions at RHIC is done.

Measuring charge fluctuations in high-energy nuclear collisions

Various measures of charge fluctuations in heavy-ion collisions are discussed. Advantages of the $\ensuremath{\Phi}$ measure are demonstrated and its relation to other fluctuation measures is established. To get the relation, $\ensuremath{\Phi}$ is expressed through the moments of multiplicity distribution. We study how the measures act in the case of a ``background'' model that represents the classical hadron gas in equilibrium. The model assumes statistical particle production constrained by charge conservation. It also takes into account both the effect of incomplete experimental apparatus acceptance and that of tracking inefficiency. The model is shown to approximately agree with the PHENIX and preliminary STAR data on the electric charge fluctuations. Finally, ``background-free'' measures are discussed.

Modified fragmentation function and jet quenching at RHIC

Medium modification of jet fragmentation functions and parton energy loss in cold and hot matter are reviewed. The predicted nuclear modification of the jet fragmentation function agrees well with the recent HERMES data with a resultant energy loss dE/dx approximately 0.5 GeV/fm. From the the recent PHENIX data of high p_T pi_0 spectra in central Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s)=130 GeV, one extracts an energy loss for a 10 GeV parton that is equivalent to dE/dx=7.3 GeV/fm in a static medium with the same gluon density as in the initial stage of the collision at tau_0=0.2 fm/c. Constraints on jet quenching by the central rapidity density of charged hadrons is also discussed.

Jet quenching and thep¯≳π−anomaly in heavy ion collisions at relativistic energies

PHENIX data on Au+Au at root(s)_= 130 AGeV suggest that p-bar yields may exceed pi- at high p_T > 2 GeV/c. We propose that jet quenching in central collisions suppresses the hard PQCD component of the spectra in central A+A reactions, thereby exposing a novel component of baryon dynamics that we attribute to (gluonic) baryon junctions. We predict that the observed p-bar >= pi- and the p > pi+ anomaly at p_T ~ 2 GeV/c is limited to a finite p_T window that decreases with increasing impact parameter.

Fuel/Cladding Chemical Interaction in Mixed-Oxide Fuel at High Burnup

The character and extent of fuel/cladding chemical interaction (FCCI) have been established for mixed uranium-plutonium oxide, (U,Pu)O/sub 2/, fuels irradiated in Experimental Breeder Reactor-II to peak fuel burnups to 14.5 at. % at beginning-of-life peak cladding temperatures to 730/sup 0/C. The changes in character and the correlation of depth of FCCI were determined as functions of the initial as-fabricated fuel oxygen-tometal ratios (O/M), the cladding inner surface temperature, and fuel burnup. The character of the interaction and its evolution with burnup and temperatures were consistent with oxidation of the chromium in the stainless steel cladding under the influence of fission products. A statistically based design wastage correlation was developed for depth of interaction based on the largest set of fuel pin data for FCCI in the U.S. program, drawn from well-characterized and carefully controlled tests. The resultant correlation, linear in burnup, O/M, and cladding temperature, includes a factor for the level of confidence to use in application of the equation in design. The correlation accounted for the few instances, i.e., 3%, that were encountered of deep localized cladding interaction. Significant changes were also noted in the interaction in the cladding opposite the top fuel pellet and the first UO/sub 2/more » insulator pellet. Comparisons to the limited Phenix data available showed the correlation adequately accounted for FCCI in large breeder fuel pins.« less