We report on two new measurements by the PHENIX collaboration regarding open heavy flavor. The first is an additional contribution to the background in the measurement of the yield of electrons at mid-rapidity from open heavy flavor decays. We found that the $J/Ψ$ can contribute substantially to the yield at high $p_T$. PHENIX has also measured the spectrum of muons at forward rapidity from open heavy flavor decays in Cu+Cu collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV.
We report recent results of strangeness and heavy flavor measurements from PHENIX. The topics are: Elliptic flow of strangeness and heavy flavor electron production comparing to the other hadrons, $ϕ$ meson production, and an exotic particle search.
The paper presents recent PHENIX results for the nuclear modification factor R_AA in Au + Au Collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV for the electrons originating from semi-leptonic decays of open heavy flavor carrying particles. We also report the results of the azimuthal asymmetry (v_2) measurement for those electrons, which is directly related to the heavy quark elliptic flow.
The PHENIX experiment has measured single electron spectra at RHIC in proton-proton (p-p), deuteron-gold (d-Au), and gold-gold (Au-Au) collisions at an available energy per nucleon-nucleon pair of sqrt{s_NN} = 200 GeV. Contributions from photonic sources, i.e. Dalitz decays of light mesons and photon conversions, are subtracted from the inclusive spectra. The remaining non-photonic single electron spectra are dominated by semileptonic decays of particles carrying heavy flavor. Implications of these systematic measurements for heavy flavor production in cold and hot nuclear systems are discusse…
The PHENIX experiment at RHIC has measured single electron spectra in proton-proton, deuteron-gold and gold-gold collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV. The photonic contribution (photon conversions and Daltiz decays) is subtracted from the inclusive spectra resulting in non-photonic electron spectra. The principal source of non-photonic electrons is the semi-leptonic decay of charm and bottom mesons. The implications for heavy flavor production in hot and cold nuclear systems are discussed.
The transverse momentum dependence of the azimuthal anisotropy parameter v_{2}, the second harmonic of the azimuthal distribution, for electrons at mid-rapidity (|eta|<0.35) has been measured with the PHENIX detector in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV with respect to the reaction plane defined at high rapidities (|eta|=3-4). From the result we have calculated non-photonic electron v_{2}, which is expected to reflect the heavy-flavor azimuthal anisotropy, by subtracting v_{2} of electrons from other sources such as photon conversions, Dalitz decay etc.
The transverse momentum spectra, yields, and ratios of charged pions, protons, and antiprotons have been studied up to 5 GeV/c in $p_T$ in 5 different centrality classes in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV. These results are compared and contrasted with the observables calculated in recombination models of hadronization. They are also used to examine the color charge dependence of parton energy loss in the medium.
One unexpected recent result from heavy-ion collisions is the large suppression and elliptic flow of electrons from heavy flavor decay. Further measurements of properties of electrons from heavy flavor decay are crucial to understanding the origin of this suppression and its implications for the properties of the hot matter produced at RHIC. Two particle correlations have been used extensively to study the propagation of hard partons through the produced matter in heavy-ion collisions. Measurements in p+p collisions are important both as reference for heavy ion measurements and to study heavy …
A study of heavy flavor production in different collision systems in various kinematic regions presents an opportunity to probe cold nuclear medium and hot dense matter effects. Results from the PHENIX experiment on $J/ψ$ and open charm production in Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ =200 GeV are presented. The data show strong $J/ψ$ suppression in central AA collisions, similar to NA50 results, and strong suppression in high $p_T$ open charm production. The $J/ψ$ production in Au+Au and d+Au collisions is compared to understand the cold nuclear medium effects. The data show signif…
Throughout the history of the RHIC physics program, questions concerning the dynamics of heavy quarks have generated much experimental and theoretical investigation. A major focus of the PHENIX experiment is the measurement of these quarks through their semi-leptonic decay channels at mid and forward rapidity. Heavy quark measurements in $p+p$ collisions give information on the production of heavy flavor, without complications from medium effects. New measurements in $d+$Au and Cu+Cu indicate surprising cold nuclear matter effects on these quarks at midrapidity, and provide a new baseline for …
In recent years, PHENIX has studied many important observables related to heavy-flavor physics through their leptonic decay measurements including the invariant yield of electrons from nonphotonic sources, and prompt single muons, both of which are dominated by D and B mesons. Charm and beauty cross-sections were measured and compared through single lepton, and lepton-hadron correlations in p+p collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 GeV. Observables for quarkonia production such as invariant yield and polarization were also measured in p+p collisions. In Au+Au collisions, preliminary results for the $…
The PHENIX experiment uses semileptonic decay channels to measure open and closed heavy flavor cross sections across the rapidity range $-2.2 < y < 2.4$. High luminosity data are now available for p+p, d+Au, Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=200 GeV, and for Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$= 62 GeV. We discuss recent d+Au results for open heavy flavor and $J/ψ$ production, and discuss their implications for the cold nuclear matter contributions to heavy flavor production in heavy ion collisions.
Cold nuclear matter (CNM) effects provide an important baseline for the interpretation of data in heavy ion collisions. Such effects include nuclear shadowing, Cronin effect, and initial patron energy loss, and it is interesting to study the dependence on impact parameter and kinematic region. Heavy quark production is a good measurement to probe the CNM effects particularly on gluons, since heavy quarks are mainly produced via gluon fusions at RHIC energy. The PHENIX experiment has experiment has ability to study the CNM effects by measuring heavy quark production in $d$$+$Au collisions at va…
The measurement of the nuclear modification factor ($R_{\rm AA}$) for heavy-flavor production in heavy-ion collisions tests predictions for cold- and hot-nuclear-matter effects. Heavy-flavor production in \pp\ collisions tests pQCD calculations and serves as a reference for understanding heavy-flavor production in heavy-ion collisions. Using the PHENIX muon-arm spectrometers, the transverse momentum spectra of inclusive muon candidates are measured for \pp\ and $\cucu$ collisions at $\snn = 200$\,GeV. After subtracting backgrounds, we obtain the measured invariant yields of negative muons from…
Heavy quarks are good probes of the hot and dense medium created in relativistic heavy ion collisions since they are mainly generated early in the collision and interact with the medium in all collision stages. In addition, heavy flavor quarkonia production is thought to be uniquely sensitive to the deconfined medium of the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) through color screening. Heavy quark production has been studied by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC via measurements of single leptons from semi-leptonic decays, in both the electron channel at mid-rapidity and in the muon channel at forward rapidity.…
Heavy quarks are a valuable probe of the hot, dense medium created in a heavy ion collision, and are an important test of proposed mechanisms of energy loss. It was discovered that single non-photonic electrons are suppressed at a similar level to light hadrons, implying a comparable level of energy loss between light and heavy partons. Because theory has had a difficult time explaining the level of heavy quark energy loss, it is crucial to better understand charm and bottom suppression. Electron-hadron correlations have been used at PHENIX to study heavy flavor in both p+p and Au+Au collision…
Charm and bottom quarks are formed predominantly by gluon fusion in the initial hard scatterings at RHIC, making them good probes of the full medium evolution. Previous measurements at RHIC have shown large suppression and azimuthal anisotropy of open heavy-flavor hadrons in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200~{\rm GeV}$. Explaining the simultaneously large suppression and flow of heavy quarks has been challenging. To further understand the heavy-flavor transport in the hot and dense medium, it is imperative to also measure cold nuclear matter effects which affect the initial distribution o…
The measurement of single leptons from the semi-leptonic decay of heavy-flavor hadrons has long been a means for studying heavy-quark production. PHENIX has measured single muons in pp collisions at forward rapidity and single electrons in both pp and AuAu collisions at mid-rapidity at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV. The most recent PHENIX single lepton results are presented in the context of state-of-the-art pQCD calculations. An updated azimuthal anisotropy, v2(pT), measurement for heavy-flavor single electrons in AuAu collisions is also presented.
This contribution presents the latest results on heavy quarkonia (j/psi and upsilon) production in d+A and A+A collisions at RHIC at a center of mass energy per nucleon-nucleon collision sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV, measured by the PHENIX experiment, as well as their implications in terms of understanding cold nuclear matter effects and the possible formation of a quark gluon plasma in central $\auau$ collisions.}
Thermal photons are thought to be the ideal probe to measure the temperature of the quark-gluon plasma created in heavy ion collisions. PHENIX has measured direct photons with p_T < 5 GeV/c via their internal conversions into e+e- pairs in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV and has now provided a baseline measurement from p+p data.
It is becoming increasingly clear that initial state effects inherent to collisions of nuclei play an important role in the interpretation of data from heavy ion collisions at RHIC and the LHC. Such effects are more apparent in kinematic regions where the gluon density is expected to be significantly modified in the nucleus. The PHENIX experiment has studied these effects through the production of heavy quarks at backwards, middle, and forward rapidity, where partonic interactions in the nucleus and changes in the gluon structure function influence heavy quark production in different ways. Com…
Heavy quarks (charm and bottom) are good probes of the hot and dense medium created in relativistic heavy ion collisions since they are mainly generated at the beginning of collisions and interact with the media in all collision stages. In addition, heavy flavor quarkonia production is thought to be uniquely sensitive to the deconfined medium of the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) through color screening. Heavy quark production has been studied by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC via measurements of single leptons from semi-leptonic decays in both the electron channel at mid-rapidity and in the muon cha…
Transverse momentum ($p_\mathrm{T}$) distribution of electrons for $0.3<p_\mathrm{T}<9.0$ GeV/$c$ have been measured in midrapidity ($|η|<0.35$) in Au + Au collisions and $p$ + $p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200$ GeV by the RHIC-PHENIX experiment. Two methods for background subtraction were applied to determine the electron yield from open charm and bottom decays. The nuclear modification factor was calculated, and significant suppression at high-$p_\mathrm{T}$ was observed in Au + Au collisions, indicating substantial energy loss of heavy quarks in the dense medium.
Heavy flavor production is an ideal tool to study the properties of the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP). The heavy flavor production at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) has its unique kinematic coverage and different production mechanisms from the Larger Hadron Collider (LHC) measurements. Heavy flavor products created in heavy ion collisions experience the whole evolution of nuclear medium. It's critical to measure both open and closed heavy flavor products in different collision systems to isolate cold/hot nuclear medium effects and initial/final state interactions. We report recent heavy…
To interpret the measurements in heavy-ion collisions at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) it is crucial to understand the initial state of the colliding gold (Au) nuclei. The parton distribution in Au nuclei is modified compared to protons, and their isospin composition is different due to the presence of neutrons. d+Au collisions at RHIC at the same collision energies are an important tool to study initial state modifications. PHENIX has measured pi0, eta, and reconstructed jets at high transverse momentum. These data are compared to predictions from nuclear parton distribution func…
The heavy quarks produced in the early stage of heavy-ion collisions are very effective probes of the dense partonic medium produced at RHIC. PHENIX has the ability to measure heavy quark production through single electrons in the central arm spectrometers ($|η|<0.35$) and single muons in the forward (backward) muon spectrometers ($1.2<|η|<2.2$). As these single leptons are from open heavy-flavor meson semi-leptonic decays, initial state cold nuclear matter effects on heavy quark production can be probed by measuring the single leptons in $d$$+$Au collisions. PHENIX have observed a large enhan…
Quarkonia provide a sensitive probe of the properties of the hot dense medium created in high energy heavy ion collisions. Hard scattering processes result in the production of heavy quark pairs that interact with the collision medium during hadronization. These in-medium interactions convey information about the fundamental properties of the medium itself and can be used to examine the modification of the QCD confining potential in the collision environment. Baseline measurements from p+p and d+Au collision systems are used to distinguish cold nuclear matter effects while measurements from he…
Over the last decade it has been established that a quark-gluon plasma (QGP) is formed in ultrarelativistic A+A collisions at RHIC energies. In recent years, detector upgrades have enabled the detailed study of this hot and dense matter. Important probes, among others, are direct photons and heavy flavor observables. Although the RHIC d+Au program was originally undertaken to study initial state and cold nuclear matter effects, recent measurements at both RHIC (d+Au) and the LHC (p+Pb) have found evidence for collective phenomena in these small systems.
The PHENIX Experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has made measurements of event-by-event fluctuations in the charged particle multiplicity as a function of collision energy, centrality, collision species, and transverse momentum in heavy ion collisions. The results of these measurements will be reviewed and discussed.
Hadrons carrying heavy quarks, i.e. charm or bottom, are important probes of the hot and dense medium created in relativistic heavy ion collisions. Heavy quark-antiquark pairs are mainly produced in initial hard scattering processes of partons. While some of the produced pairs form bound quarkonia, the vast majority hadronize into particles carrying open heavy flavor. Heavy quark production has been studied by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC via measurements of single leptons from semi-leptonic decays in both the electron channel at mid-rapidity and in the muon channel at forward rapidity. A lar…
Heavy quarks are an ideal probe of the quark gluon plasma created in heavy ion collisions. They are produced in the initial hard scattering and therefore experience the full evolution of the medium. PHENIX has previously measured the modification of heavy quark production in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV via electrons from semileptonic decays, which indicated substantial modifications of the parent hadron momentum distribution. The PHENIX barrel silicon vertex detector (VTX), installed in 2011, allows for the separation of electrons from charm and bottom hadron decays through the…
The PHENIX Experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has made measurements of event-by-event fluctuations in the net charge, the mean transverse momentum, and the charged particle multiplicity as a function of collision energy, centrality, and transverse momentum in heavy ion collisions. The results of these measurements will be reviewed and discussed.
The PHENIX experiment at RHIC measured $ω$, $η$ and $K_{S}^{0}$-meson production at high $p_{T}$ in $p+p$, $d+Au$ and $Au+Au$ collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ $GeV$. Measurements performed in different hadronic decay channels give consistent results. The measured ratios of all three mesons to $π^{0}$ are found to be flat as a function of $p_{T}$ in $p+p$ collisions and equal to $ω/π^{0}=0.81\pm0.02\pm0.07$, $η/π^{0}=0.48\pm0.02\pm0.02$ and $K_{S}^{0}/π^{0}=0.45\pm0.01\pm0.05$. Nuclear modification factor measured for $ω$-mesons in central Au+Au collisions is $R_{AA}=0.4\pm0.15$.
New design of silicon stripixel sensor has been developed at BNL for PHENIX upgrade. The sensor is a single-sided, DC-coupled, two dimensional position sensitive device with good position resolution. This design is simpler for sensor fabrication and signal processing than the conventional double-sided strip sensor. HPK has produced pre-production stripixel sensors with thickness of 625 um. The quality assurance tests show that the very low leakage current 0.12 nA per strip allows the use of the SVX4 chip. A long term stability test shows that the leakage current is stable over a long period of…
The PHENIX collaboration has measured low momentum direct photon radiation in Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV, 62.4 GeV and 39 GeV, in Cu+Cu at 200 GeV as well as in p+p, p+Au and d+Au at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} =$ 200 GeV. In these measurements PHENIX has discovered a large excess over the scaled p+p yield of direct photons in A+A collisions, and a non-zero excess, observed within systematic uncertainties, over the scaled p+p yield in central p+A collisions. Another finding is that at low-$p_{T}$ the integrated yield of direct photons, $dN_γ/dy$, from large systems shows a behavior of universal scaling as…
Measurement of electrons from heavy quarks by PHENIX has been done for various collision species and energy.PHENIX has measured single electron spectra from heavy flavor decays in Au+Au collisions at $sqrt{S_{NN}} = 200$ GeV.The measurement of heavy flavor production for p + p in PHENIX has also been measured which provided the baseline for studying hot and dense matter effects in heavy ion reactions. In Au + Au we observe a strong suppression of single electron compared with scaled p + p which challenges radiative energy loss models because heavy quarksare expected to radiate less than light …
We review recent results on hard observables in p+p, d+A and A+A collisions obtained by the PHENIX experiment. Emphasis is put on those measurements that provide insight into the properties of hot QCD media expected to be created in nucleus-nucleus collisions at RHIC energies. Direct photon spectra, jet properties and heavy quarks production measured in p+p and d+Au collisions are compared to the same observables extracted in heavy ion collisions to find modifications due to the presence of hot QCD matter.
Single electrons from open heavy quarks and di-leptons from J/psi mesons have been studied systematically at RHIC/PHENIX using data from p + p, d + Au and Au + Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 62.4 GeV, 130 GeV and 200 GeV. From the single electron study, the charm quark yield is found to scale with the number of binary collisions. This scaling has recently been confirmed using Au+Au collisions at 62.4 GeV. A new analysis shows that a high p_T suppression of single electrons is observed in Au + Au collisions at 200 GeV. This suppression suggests that heavy quarks lose significant energy in t…
The central arm spectrometers for the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider have been designed for the optimization of particle identification in relativistic heavy ion collisions. The spectrometers present a challenging environment for event reconstruction due to a very high track multiplicity in a complicated, focusing, magnetic field. In order to meet this challenge, nine distinct detector types are integrated for charged particle tracking, momentum reconstruction, and particle identification. The techniques which have been developed for the task of event reconstruction a…
Quarkonia provide a sensitive probe of the properties of the hot dense medium created in high energy heavy ion collisions. Hard scattering processes result in the production of heavy quark pairs that interact with the collision medium during hadronization. These in medium interactions convey information about the fundamental properties of the medium itself and can be used to examine the modification of the QCD confining potential in the collision environment. Baseline measurements from the d+Au and p+p collision systems can be used to distinguish cold nuclear matter effects while measurements …
Measurement of Bose-Einstein or HBT correlations of identified charged particles provide insight into the space-time structure of particle emitting sources in heavy-ion collisions. In this paper we present the latest results from the RHIC PHENIX experiment on such measurements.
The dissociation of quarkonia in the medium created in heavy ion collisions is still one of the most debated topics in the heavy ion community. Progress in understanding the effect relies on a broad range of measurements in collisions with different nuclear sizes, covering a broad rapidity range. This presentation will report the $J/ψ$ measurements performed by the PHENIX collaboration at forward and backward rapidities of 1.2 $< |y| <$ 2.2 in $p$+Al, $p$+Au, and $^3$He+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV, and the corresponding nuclear modification factors.
PHENIX measures leptons at mid and forward rapidities and extracts leptons resulting from semi-leptonic decays of heavy quarks. We present PHENIX results related to heavy quark production, specifically the invariant cross section of the non-photonic single electrons produced at midrapidity in p+p and d+Au collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 200 GeV. The measured cross section for {\it p+p} collisions is compared with the NLO prediction, and a possible excess over the prediction is noted. The measured cross section for {\it d+Au} collisions scales with the number of colliding nucleon pairs from the {\it …
Recent results on direct photons and dileptons from the PHENIX xperiment opened up a possibility of landscaping electro-magnetic radiation over various kinetic energies in heavy ion collisions. A detail discussion is given based on a review of the results.
With the measurement of several observables at SPS energies that demonstrate non-monotonic behavior as a function of centrality and $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$, there is growing interest in pursuing a scan of relativistic heavy ion collisions at low energies at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The capabilities of the PHENIX experiment to take quality measurements at low RHIC energies is described and directly demonstrated with analyses of Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 19.6 GeV and Cu+Cu collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 22.5 GeV. The contribution of upgrades to the PHENIX detector in the upcomin…
We will review the latest physics developments from PHENIX concentrating on cold nuclear matter effects, the initial state for heavy-ion collisions, and probes of the earliest stages of the hot-dense medium created in those collisions. Recent physics results from p + p and d + Au collisions; and from direct photons, quarkonia and low-mass vector mesons in A+A collisions will be highlighted. Insights from these measurements into the characteristics of the initial state and about the earliest times in heavy-ion collisions will be discussed.
Recent PHENIX elliptic flow ($v_2$) measurements for identified particles produced in Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV are presented and compared to other RHIC measurements. They indicate universal scaling of $v_2$ compatible with partonic collectivity leading to the flow of light, strange and heavy quarks with a common expansion velocity field.
In heavy-ion collisions we measure the Bose-Einstein correlation functions to map out the femtoscopic homogeneity region of the particle emitting source. Previously, a one dimensional measurement with a Lévy shaped source was done at the PHENIX experiment. In this paper, we present the three dimensional Lévy HBT results of PHENIX and their comparison with the one dimensional results.
Heavy flavor and quarkona production are important hard probes to test the Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) and measure the properties of the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) created in high energy heavy ion collisions. The new PHENIX mid- and forward-rapidity silicon vertex detectors provide precise Distance of Closest Approach (DCA) determination, allowing charm and bottom yields identification, and improve di-muon mass resolution for charmonia studies. The relative $ψ(2S)$ over $J/ψ$(1S) yields measured in $p$+$p$, $p$+Al and $p$+Au data at $\sqrt{s}=$200 GeV help us to understand final state effects o…
From the wealth of data obtained from the first three years of RHIC operation, the four RHIC experiments, BRAHMS, PHENIX, PHOBOS and STAR, have concluded that a high density partonic matter is formed at central Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV. The research focus now shifts from initial discovery to a detailed exploration of partonic matter. Particles carrying heavy flavor, i.e. charm or beauty quarks, are powerful tool for study the properties of the hot and dense medium created in high-energy nuclear collisions at RHIC. At the relatively low transverse momentum region, the collective motion of th…
Measurement of the in-medium energy loss of fast partons is one of the most active topics in heavy-ion physics. Such studies provide an opportunity to gain insight into the fundamental behavior of QCD processes by studying them away from vacuum conditions. A promising channel for relating theoretical models to data are two particle correlations using direct photon triggers. Recent results on this observeable using the PHENIX detector are presented.
In relativistic heavy-ion collisions, studying jet correlations and their dependence on the angle of emission with respect to the reaction plane can be used to shed light on the path length dependence of the energy lost by the jet. In this paper, we present recent PHENIX results on jet correlations versus reaction plane, as a function of centrality and transverse momentum.
Since the earliest days of Heavy Ion Physics thermal soft photon radiation emitted during the reaction had been theorized as a smoking gun signal for formation of a quark-gluon plasma and as a tool to characterize its properties. In recent years the existence of excess photon radiation in heavy ion collisions over the expectation from initial hard interactions has been confirmed at both RHIC and LHC energies by PHENIX and ALICE respectively. There the radiation has been found to exhibit elliptic flow $v_2$ well above what can currently be reconciled with a picture of early emission from a plas…
Heavy quarkonia production is predicted to be sensitive to the formation of the quark gluon plasma in relativistic heavy ion collisions via competing mechanisms such as color screening and/or quark recombination. During 2004 and 2005 RHIC data taking periods, the PHENIX collaboration has measured jpsi decay into lepton pairs both at mid and forward rapidity in Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=200 GeV. We present the jpsi nuclear modification factor and the $\jpsi$ mean square transverse momentum as a function of the collision centrality for both systems, as well as the rapidity de…
Direct photon-hadron correlations greatly improve our ability to perform jet tomography in heavy-ion collisions because the momentum of the direct photon can be used to constrain the initial momentum of the opposing jet. By comparing the spectrum of away-side hadrons observed in heavy ion collisions to the spectrum seen in nucleon collisions we can quantify the medium modification to the fragmentation function due to energy loss of the away-side parton. High $p_{T}$ direct photon-hadron correlations have been measured with the PHENIX detector using a statistical subtraction method to remove th…
Dielectrons play an important role in heavy ion collisions since they are produced during all stages of the collision and interact only electromagnetically. The PHENIX experiment was upgraded with the Hadron Blind Detector which provides excellent background rejection by removing pairs from both partially reconstructed Dalitz decays and photon conversions. In these proceedings we will report on the results obtained from 2009 data in p+p collisions using the HBD as well as the Au+Au results obtained in 2010.
A major goal of experiments in heavy-ion physics is the characterization of the quark gluon plasma (QGP) produced in the collision of heavy ions at high energy. Direct photons are a particularly good probe of the produced medium because they do not interact strongly and so can escape the medium unmodified, carrying information about when the photon was produced. It is expected that direct photon contributions from different sources (QGP radiation, hard scattering, hadron gas radiation) dominate at different transverse momentum ranges. Low momentum direct photons are dominated by thermal radiat…
The phase diagram of strongly interacting matter can be explored by analyzing data of heavy-ion collisions at different center of mass collision energies. For investigating the space-time structure of the hadron emission source, HBT correlation measurements are among the best tools. In this paper we present the latest results from the RHIC PHENIX experiment on such measurements in $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=$ 39 GeV and 62 GeV Au+Au collisions.
Direct photons are a powerful probe to study the properties of the unique matter created in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. They carry information on the various stages of a heavy-ion collision. At different transverse momenta (pT), different production processes dominate the direct photon yield in heavy-ion collisions. Photons at high pT can be used to study initial hard scattering processes while photons at low and intermediate pT provide direct information on the hot and dense medium created in such collisions since they origin predominantly from jet-medium interactions and from the…
The measurement of quarkonia production in relativistic heavy ion collisions provides a powerful tool for studying the properties of the hot and dense matter created in these collisions. To be really useful, however, such measurements must cover a wide range of quarkonia states and colliding species. The PHENIX experiment at RHIC has successfully measured J/psi, psi-prime, chi_c and Upsilon production in different colliding systems at various energies. In this talk I will present recent results from the PHENIX collaboration on charmonium production in d+Au, Cu+Au and U+U collisions at 200 GeV/…
