Interferometry of Direct Photons in Central 280Pb+208Pb Collisions at 158A GeV

Two-particle correlations of direct photons were measured in central 208Pb+208Pb collisions at 158 AGeV. The invariant interferometric radii were extracted for 100<K_T<300 MeV/c and compared to radii extracted from charged pion correlations. The yield of soft direct photons, K_T<300 MeV/c, was extracted from the correlation strength and compared to theoretical calculations.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Inclusive cross section and double helicity asymmetry for \pi^0 production in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV: Implications for the polarized gluon distribution in the proton

The PHENIX experiment presents results from the RHIC 2005 run with polarized proton collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV, for inclusive \pi^0 production at mid-rapidity. Unpolarized cross section results are given for transverse momenta p_T=0.5 to 20 GeV/c, extending the range of published data to both lower and higher p_T. The cross section is described well for p_T < 1 GeV/c by an exponential in p_T, and, for p_T > 2 GeV/c, by perturbative QCD. Double helicity asymmetries A_LL are presented based on a factor of five improvement in uncertainties as compared to previously published results, due to both an improved beam polarization of 50%, and to higher integrated luminosity. These measurements are sensitive to the gluon polarization in the proton, and exclude maximal values for the gluon polarization.Comment: 375 authors, 7 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. D, Rapid Communications. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

High-pT pi^zero Production with Respect to the Reaction Plane in Au + Au Collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV

Measurements of the azimuthal anisotropy of high-\pT neutral pion neutral pion production in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV by the PHENIX experiment are presented. The data included in this paper were collected during the 2004 RHIC running period and represent approximately an order of magnitude increase in the number of analyzed events relative to previously published results. Azimuthal angle distributions of pi^0s detected in the PHENIX electromagnetic calorimeters are measured relative to the reaction plane determined event-by-event using the forward and backward beam-beam counters. Amplitudes of the second Fourier component (v_2) of the angular distributions are presented as a function of pi^0 transverse momentum p_T for different bins in collision centrality. Measured reaction plane dependent pi^0 yields are used to determine the azimuthal dependence of the pi^0 suppression as a function of p_T, R_AA (Delta phi,p_T). A jet-quenching motivated geometric analysis is presented that attempts to simultaneously describe the centrality dependence and reaction plane angle dependence of the pi^0 suppression in terms of the path lengths of hypothetical parent partons in the medium. This set of results allows for a detailed examination of the influence of geometry in the collision region, and of the interplay between collective flow and jet-quenching effects along the azimuthal axis.Comment: 344 authors, 35 pages text, RevTeX-4, 24 figures, 8 tables. Submitted to Physical Review

J/psi suppression at forward rapidity in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=39 and 62.4 GeV

We present measurements of the J/psi invariant yields in sqrt(s_NN)=39 and 62.4 GeV Au+Au collisions at forward rapidity (1.2<|y|<2.2). Invariant yields are presented as a function of both collision centrality and transverse momentum. Nuclear modifications are obtained for central relative to peripheral Au+Au collisions (R_CP) and for various centrality selections in Au+Au relative to scaled p+p cross sections obtained from other measurements (R_AA). The observed suppression patterns at 39 and 62.4 GeV are quite similar to those previously measured at 200 GeV. This similar suppression presents a challenge to theoretical models that contain various competing mechanisms with different energy dependencies, some of which cause suppression and others enhancement.Comment: 365 authors, 10 pages, 11 figures, 4 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. C. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Azimuthal anisotropy of pi^0 and eta mesons in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV

The azimuthal anisotropy coefficients v_2 and v_4 of pi^0 and eta mesons are measured in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV, as a function of transverse momentum p_T (1-14 GeV/c) and centrality. The extracted v_2 coefficients are found to be consistent between the two meson species over the measured p_T range. The ratio of v_4/v_2^2 for pi^0 mesons is found to be independent of p_T for 1-9 GeV/c, implying a lack of sensitivity of the ratio to the change of underlying physics with p_T. Furthermore, the ratio of v_4/v_2^2 is systematically larger in central collisions, which may reflect the combined effects of fluctuations in the initial collision geometry and finite viscosity in the evolving medium.Comment: 384 authors, 71 institutions, 11 pages, 9 figures, and 2 tables. Submitted to Physical Review C. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Centrality categorization for R_{p(d)+A} in high-energy collisions

High-energy proton- and deuteron-nucleus collisions provide an excellent tool for studying a wide array of physics effects, including modifications of parton distribution functions in nuclei, gluon saturation, and color neutralization and hadronization in a nuclear environment, among others. All of these effects are expected to have a significant dependence on the size of the nuclear target and the impact parameter of the collision, also known as the collision centrality. In this article, we detail a method for determining centrality classes in p(d)+A collisions via cuts on the multiplicity at backward rapidity (i.e., the nucleus-going direction) and for determining systematic uncertainties in this procedure. For d+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV we find that the connection to geometry is confirmed by measuring the fraction of events in which a neutron from the deuteron does not interact with the nucleus. As an application, we consider the nuclear modification factors R_{p(d)+A}, for which there is a potential bias in the measured centrality dependent yields due to auto-correlations between the process of interest and the backward rapidity multiplicity. We determine the bias correction factor within this framework. This method is further tested using the HIJING Monte Carlo generator. We find that for d+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV, these bias corrections are small and vary by less than 5% (10%) up to p_T = 10 (20) GeV. In contrast, for p+Pb collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 5.02 TeV we find these bias factors are an order of magnitude larger and strongly p_T dependent, likely due to the larger effect of multi-parton interactions.Comment: 375 authors, 18 pages, 16 figures, 4 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. C. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Measurements of double-helicity asymmetries in inclusive J/ψJ/\psi production in longitudinally polarized p+pp+p collisions at s=510\sqrt{s}=510 GeV

We report the double helicity asymmetry, $A_{LL}^{J/\psi}$, in inclusive $J/\psi$ production at forward rapidity as a function of transverse momentum $p_T$ and rapidity $|y|$. The data analyzed were taken during $\sqrt{s}=510$ GeV longitudinally polarized $p$$+$$p$ collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) in the 2013 run using the PHENIX detector. At this collision energy, $J/\psi$ particles are predominantly produced through gluon-gluon scatterings, thus $A_{LL}^{J/\psi}$ is sensitive to the gluon polarization inside the proton. We measured $A_{LL}^{J/\psi}$ by detecting the decay daughter muon pairs $\mu^+ \mu^-$ within the PHENIX muon spectrometers in the rapidity range $1.2<|y|<2.2$. In this kinematic range, we measured the $A_{LL}^{J/\psi}$ to be $0.012 \pm 0.010$~(stat)~$\pm$~$0.003$(syst). The $A_{LL}^{J/\psi}$ can be expressed to be proportional to the product of the gluon polarization distributions at two distinct ranges of Bjorken $x$: one at moderate range $x \approx 0.05$ where recent RHIC data of jet and $\pi^0$ double helicity spin asymmetries have shown evidence for significant gluon polarization, and the other one covering the poorly known small-$x$ region $x \approx 2\times 10^{-3}$. Thus our new results could be used to further constrain the gluon polarization for $x< 0.05$.Comment: 335 authors, 10 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, 2013 data. Version accepted for publication by Phys. Rev. D. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Medium modification of jet fragmentation in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV measured in direct photon-hadron correlations

The jet fragmentation function is measured with direct photon-hadron correlations in p+p and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV. The p_T of the photon is an excellent approximation to the initial p_T of the jet and the ratio z_T=p_T^h/p_T^\gamma is used as a proxy for the jet fragmentation function. A statistical subtraction is used to extract the direct photon-hadron yields in Au+Au collisions while a photon isolation cut is applied in p+p. I_ AA, the ratio of jet fragment yield in Au+Au to that in p+p, indicates modification of the jet fragmentation function. Suppression, most likely due to energy loss in the medium, is seen at high z_T. The fragment yield at low z_T is enhanced at large angles. Such a trend is expected from redistribution of the lost energy into increased production of low-momentum particles.Comment: 562 authors, 70 insitutions, 8 pages, and 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. v2 has minor changes to improve clarity. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Upsilon (1S+2S+3S) production in d+Au and p+p collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV and cold-nuclear matter effects

The three Upsilon states, Upsilon(1S+2S+3S), are measured in d+Au and p+p collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV and rapidities 1.2<|y|<2.2 by the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider. Cross sections for the inclusive Upsilon(1S+2S+3S) production are obtained. The inclusive yields per binary collision for d+Au collisions relative to those in p+p collisions (R_dAu) are found to be 0.62 +/- 0.26 (stat) +/- 0.13 (syst) in the gold-going direction and 0.91 +/- 0.33 (stat) +/- 0.16 (syst) in the deuteron-going direction. The measured results are compared to a nuclear-shadowing model, EPS09 [JHEP 04, 065 (2009)], combined with a final-state breakup cross section, sigma_br, and compared to lower energy p+A results. We also compare the results to the PHENIX J/psi results [Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 142301 (2011)]. The rapidity dependence of the observed Upsilon suppression is consistent with lower energy p+A measurements.Comment: 495 authors, 11 pages, 9 figures, 5 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. C. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm