Yields for $/\psi$ production in Cu+Cu collisions at sqrt (s_NN)= 200 GeV have been measured by the PHENIX experiment over the rapidity range |y| < 2.2 at transverse momenta from 0 to beyond 5 GeV/c. ...The invariant yield is obtained as a function of rapidity, transverse momentum and collision centrality, and compared with results in p+p and Au+Au collisions at the same energy. The Cu+Cu data provide greatly improved precision over existing Au+Au data for $/\J/psi$ production in collisions with small to intermediate numbers of participants, providing a key constraint that is needed for disentangling cold and hot nuclear matter effects.
We present transverse momentum (p{sub T}) spectra of charged hadrons measured in deuteron-gold and nucleon-gold collisions at {radical}s = 200 GeV for four centrality classes. Nucleon-gold collisions ...were selected by tagging events in which a spectator nucleon was observed in one of two forward rapidity detectors. The spectra and yields were investigated as a function of the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions, {nu}, suffered by deuteron nucleons. A comparison of charged particle yields to those in p+p collisions show that the yield per nucleon-nucleon collision saturates with {nu} for high momentum particles. We also present the charged hadron to neutral pion ratios as a function of p{sub T}.
We present azimuthal angle correlations of intermediate transverse momentum (1-4 GeV/c) hadrons from {dijets} in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 62.4 and 200 GeV. The away-side dijet ...induced azimuthal correlation is broadened, non-Gaussian, and peaked away from \Delta\phi=\pi in central and semi-central collisions in all the systems. The broadening and peak location are found to depend upon the number of participants in the collision, but not on the collision energy or beam nuclei. These results are consistent with sound or shock wave models, but pose challenges to Cherenkov gluon radiation models.
Longitudinal density correlations of produced matter in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s{sub NN})=200 GeV have been measured from the inclusive charged particle distributions as a function of ...pseudorapidity window sizes. The extracted {alpha}{xi} parameter, related to the susceptibility of the density fluctuations in the long-wavelength limit, exhibits a nonmonotonic behavior as a function of the number of participant nucleons, N{sub part}. A local maximum is seen at N{sub part}{approx}90, with corresponding energy density based on the Bjorken picture of {epsilon}{sub Bj}{tau}{approx}2.4 GeV/(fm{sup 2}c) with a transverse area size of 60 fm2. This behavior may suggest a critical phase boundary based on the Ginzburg-Landau framework.
The dependence of transverse momentum spectra of neutral pions and eta mesons with p_T <16 GeV/c and p_T < 12 GeV/c, respectively, on the centrality of the collision has been measured at mid-rapidity ...by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC in d+Au collisions at sqrt(s_(NN)) = 200 GeV. The measured yields are compared to those in p + p collisions at the same sqrt(s_(NN)) scaled by the number of underlying nucleon-nucleon collisions in d+Au. At all centralities the yield ratios show no suppression, in contrast to the strong suppression seen for central Au+Au collisions at RHIC. Only a weak p_T and centrality dependence can be observed.
The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) has measured electrons from heavy flavor (charm and bottom) decays for 0.3 < p_T < 9 GeV/c at midrapidity (|y| < 0.35) in Au+Au ...collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The nuclear modification factor RAA relative to p+p collisions shows a strong suppression in central Au+Au collisions, indicating substantial energy loss of heavy quarks in the medium produced at RHIC. A large azimuthal anisotropy, v_2, with respect to the reaction plane is observed for 0.5 < p_T < 5 GeV/c indicating non-zero heavy flavor elliptic flow. A simultaneous description of RAA(p_T) and v2(p_T) constrains the existing models of heavy-quark rescattering in strongly interacting matter and provides information on the transport properties of the produced medium. In particular, a viscosity to entropy density ratio close to the conjectured quantum lower bound, i.e. near a perfect fluid, is suggested.
Emission source functions are extracted from correlation functions constructed from charged pions produced at mid-rapidity in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV. The source parameters extracted ...from these functions at low k_T, give first indications of a long tail for the pion emission source. The source extension cannot be explained solely by simple kinematic considerations. The possible role of a halo of secondary pions from resonance emissions is explored.
J/Psi production in p+p collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV has been Measured in the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) over a rapidity range of -2.2 < y < 2.2 and a ...transverse momentum range of 0 < pT < 9 GeV/c. The statistics available allow a detailed measurement of both the pT and rapidity distributions and are sufficient to constrain production models. The total cross section times branching ratio determined for J/Psi production is B_{ll} sigma_pp^J/psi = 178 +/- 3(stat) +/- 53(syst) +/- 18(norm) nb.
The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) has measured J/psi production for rapidities 2.2 < y < 2.2 in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The J/psi invariant yield ...and nuclear modification factor R_AA as a function of centrality, transverse momentum and rapidity are reported. A suppression of J/psi relative to binary collision scaling of proton-proton reaction yields is observed. Models which describe the lower energy J/Psi data at the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) invoking only J/psi destruction based on the local medium density would predict a significantly larger suppression at RHIC and more suppression at mid rapidity than at forward rapidity. Both trends are contradicted by our data.
Correlations between p and pbar's at transverse momenta typical of enhanced baryon production in Au+Au collisions are reported. The PHENIX experiment measures same and opposite sign baryon pairs in ...Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. Correlated production of p and p^bar with the trigger particle from the range 2.5 < p_T < 4.0 GeV/c and the associated particle with 1.8 < p_T < 2.5 GeV/c is observed to be nearly independent of the centrality of the collisions. Same sign pairs show no correlation at any centrality. The conditional yield of mesons triggered by baryons (and anti-baryons) and mesons in the same pT range rises with increasing centrality, except for the most central collisions, where baryons show a significantly smaller number of associated mesons. These data are consistent with a picture in which hard scattered partons produce correlated p and p^bar in the p_T region of the baryon excess.