Jinhui Chen, Xin Dong, Xionghong He, Huanzhong Huang, Feng Liu, Xiaofeng Luo, Yu-Gang Ma, Lijuan Ruan, Ming Shao, Shusu Shi, Xu Sun, Aihong Tang, Zebo Tang, Fuqiang Wang, Hai Wang, Yi Wang, Zhigang Xiao, Guannan Xie, Nu Xu, Qinghua Xu, Zhangbu Xu, Chi Yang, Shuai Yang, Wangmei Zha, Yapeng Zhang, Yifei Zhang, Jie Zhao, Xianglei Zhu
备注：
31 pages, 33 figures. This review is dedicated to Professor Wenqing Shen on the occasion to celebrate his leadership of the Chinese STAR Collaboration, the development and production of the STAR MRPC TOF detector in China and many physics analyses
In the paper, we discuss the development of the multi-gap resistive plate chamber Time-of-Flight (TOF) technology and the production of the STAR TOF detector in China at the beginning of the 21st century. Then we review recent experimental results from the first beam energy scan program (BES-I) at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Topics cover measurements of collectivity, chirality, criticality, global polarization, strangeness, heavy-flavor, di-lepton and light nuclei productions.
We present a fully three-dimensional initial state model for relativistic heavy-ion collisions at RHIC Beam Energy Scan (BES) collision energies. The initial energy and net baryon density profiles are produced based on a classical string deceleration model. The baryon stopping and fluctuations during this early stage of the collision are investigated by studying the net baryon rapidity distribution and longitudinal decorrelation of the transverse geometry.
STAR collaboration at RHIC has recently measured the polarization of $Λ$ hyperons in non-central heavy ion collisions in the RHIC Beam Energy Scan (BES) program. The magnitude of the polarization was found to decrease from few percents at the lowest BES energies to $\approx0.2$% at the top RHIC energy. The polarization signal has been reproduced in different hydrodynamic calculations assuming a thermodynamic spin-vorticity coupling mechanism at the Cooper-Frye hypersurface. In this work an extension of our existing calculations of the $Λ$ polarization in the RHIC BES program to the top RHIC an…
Using a hybrid (viscous hydrodynamics + hadronic cascade) framework, we model the bulk dynamical evolution of relativistic heavy-ion collisions at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) Beam Energy Scan (BES) collision energies, including the effects from non-zero net baryon current and its dissipative diffusion. This framework is in full (3+1)D, which allows us to study the non-trivial longitudinal structure and dynamics of the collision systems, for example baryon stopping and transport, as well as longitudinal fluctuations. For the first time, the quantitative effect of net-baryon diffusion…
The paper presents my recent investigations of volume corrections on the cumulant products of net-charge distributions in statistical model, corresponding to the data reported by the STAR collaboration. The corrected statistical expectations, under simple Poisson approximations, can reasonably explain the data measured in experiment. The results indicate that volume corrections play crucial role in event-by-event multiplicity fluctuation studies.
We investigate the coalescence factors $B_2$ and $B_3$ at low collision energies ($\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}<6$ GeV) with special focus on the HADES and RHIC-BES experiments. It is shown that, in order to properly interpret the coalescence factors $B_A$, two important corrections are necessary: I) $B_2$ has to be calculated using the proton $\times$ neutron yields in the denominator, instead of the square of the proton yield, and II) the primordial proton (neutron) densities have to be used for the normalization and not the final state (free) protons (neutrons). Both effects lead to a drastic reduc…
We present calculations of the chemical freeze-out temperature (T_ch) based on particle yields from STAR and ALICE measured at collision energies ranging from sqrt{s_{NN}} = 11.5 GeV to 5.02 TeV. Employing the Grand Canonical Ensemble approach using the Thermal-FIST Hadron Resonance Gas model package, we show evidence for a flavour-dependent chemical freeze-out in the crossover region of the QCD phase diagram. At a vanishing baryochemical potential, we calculate light and strange flavour freeze-out temperatures T_L = 150.2 +- 2.6 MeV and T_S = 165.1 +- 2.7 MeV, respectively.
The STAR detector at RHIC, due to its large uniform acceptance and excellent particle identification capabilities, has measured a variety of hadron species ($π^{\pm}$, $K^{\pm}$, $p$, $\bar{p}$, $K^{0}_{S}$, $Λ$, $\barΛ$, $Ξ^{-}$, $\barΞ^{+}$) produced in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt {s_{NN}}= 7.7$, 11.5, 27 and 39 GeV. These data are part of the Beam Energy Scan (BES) program at RHIC and provide an opportunity to measure the yields and transverse momentum spectra ($p_{T}$) of the particles produced in the collisions. The corresponding measurements allow to study the freeze-out properties and dy…
Open heavy flavor and quarkonium are unique probes of the hot-dense medium produced in heavy-ion collisions. Their production in p+p collisions also provide important test of QCD. In this paper, we review the selected results on open heavy flavor and quarkonium in p+p and heavy-ion collisions achieved at RHIC. Physics implications are also discussed.
In hydrodynamic approach to relativistic heavy ion collisions, hadrons with nonzero spin, produced out of the hydrodynamic medium, can acquire polarization via spin-vorticity thermodynamic coupling mechanism. The hydrodynamical quantity steering the polarization is the thermal vorticity, that is minus the antisymmetric part of the gradient of four-temperature field. Based on this mechanism there have been several calculations in hydrodynamic and non-hydrodynamic models for non-central heavy ion collisions in the RHIC Beam Energy Scan energy range, showing that the amount of polarization of pro…
Recently, transport coefficients viz. shear viscosity, electrical conductivity etc. of strongly interacting matter produced in heavy-ion collisions have drawn considerable interest. We study the normalised electrical conductivity ($σ_{\rm el}$/T) of hot QCD matter as a function of temperature (T) using the Color String Percolation Model (CSPM). We also study the temperature dependence of shear viscosity and its ratio with electrical conductivity for the QCD matter. We compare CSPM estimations with various existing results and lattice Quantum Chromodynamics (lQCD) predictions with (2+1) dynamic…
We review a subset of experimental results from the heavy-ion collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) facility at CERN. Excellent consistency is observed across all the experiments at the LHC (at center of mass energy of 2.76 TeV) for the measurements such as charged particle multiplicity density, azimuthal anisotropy coefficients and nuclear modification factor of charged hadrons. Comparison to similar measurements from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at lower energy (center of mass energy of 200 GeV) suggests that system formed at LHC has a higher energy density, larger syst…
In the RHIC Beam Energy Scan program, gold nuclei are collided with different collision energies in the range from few to 62.4 GeV. The goals of the program are to explore the onset of QGP creation, locate the critical point of QCD and study dense baryon matter. We report on the first application of Monte Carlo Glauber (GLISSANDO2) and T$_{\rm R}$ENTo $p=0$ initial states extended to 3D for event-by-event viscous fluid dynamic (vHLLE) with hadronic cascade modelling of Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{\rm NN}}}=27$ and 62.4 GeV, which is the upper region of RHIC BES energies. The initial states…
The exploration of the QCD phase diagram has been one of the main drivers of contemporary nuclear physics. The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at BNL is uniquely suited for this task through its Beam Energy Scan (BES) program which allowed for a large range in baryon chemical potential $μ_B$ as was successfully demonstrated after the completion of Phase 1 in 2014. Phase 2 of the BES at RHIC is scheduled to start in 2019 and will explore with precision measurements the intermediate-to-high $μ_B$ region of the QCD phase diagram, five energies $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ from 7.7 to 19.6 GeV in collid…
We present a new event generator based on the three-fluid hydrodynamics (3FH) approach, followed by a particlization at the hydrodynamic decoupling surface and a subsequent UrQMD afterburner stage based on the microscopic UrQMD transport model that accounts for hadronic final state interactions. First results for Au+Au collisions are presented. The following topics are addressed: the directed flow, transverse-mass spectra, as well as rapidity distributions of protons, pions and kaons for two model equations of state, one with a first-order phase transition, the other with a crossover transitio…
We report the measurement of the directed flow ($v_{1}$) for charged kaons in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ =7.7, 11.5, 19.6, 27, 39, 62.4 and 200 GeV as a function of rapidity and compare these results for pions, protons and antiprotons. These new kaon results may help to constrain the medium properties and collision dynamics including the in-medium kaon potential and baryon number transport in these collisions.
The results from data taken during the last several years at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) will be reviewed in the paper. Several selected topics that further our understanding of constituent quark scaling, jet quenching and color screening effect of heavy quarkonia in the hot dense medium will be presented. Detector upgrades will further probe the properties of Quark Gluon Plasma. Future measurements with upgraded detectors will be presented. The discovery perspectives from future measurements will also be discussed.
The study of heavy-ion collisions has currently unprecedented opportunities with two first class facilities, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at BNL and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, and five large experiments ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, PHENIX and STAR producing a wealth of high quality data. Selected results recently obtained are presented on the study of flow, energy loss and direct photons.
The progress over the 30 years since the first high-energy heavy-ion collisions at the BNL-AGS and CERN-SPS has been truly remarkable. Rigorous experimental and theoretical studies have revealed a new state of the matter in heavy-ion collisions, the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). Many signatures supporting the formation of the QGP have been reported. Among them are jet quenching, the non-viscous flow, direct photons, and Debye screening effects. In this article, selected signatures of the QGP observed at RHIC and the LHC are reviewed.
Fluctuations of conserved quantities are sensitive observables to probe the signature of QCD phase transition and critical point in heavy-ion collisions. With the UrQMD model, we have studied the centrality and energy dependence of various order cumulants and cumulant ratios (up to fourth order) of net-proton,net-charge and net-kaon multiplicity distributions in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$= 7.7, 11.5, 19.6, 27, 39, 62.4, 200 GeV. The model results show that the production mechanism of the particles and anti-particles have significant impacts on the cumulants of net-particles multiplici…
The main goals of relativistic heavy-ion experiments is to study the properties of QCD matter under extreme temperatures and densities. The focus of this talk is the studies that are underway at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), located at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) on Long Island, New York, U.S.A. I discuss selected highlights from the past couple of years that are key to elucidating the characteristics of the new state of matter created in these heavy-ion collisions, called a Quark Gluon Plasma.
We present a comparison of inclusive photon elliptic flow parameter (v_{2}) measured at RHIC and SPS high energy heavy-ion collision experiments to calculations done using the AMPT and UrQMD models. The new results discussed includes the comparison of the model calculations of photon v_{2} to corresponding measurements at the forward rapidities. We observe that the AMPT model which includes partonic interactions and quark coalescence as a mechanism of hadronization is in good agreement with the measurements even at forward rapidities (2.3 < η< 3.9) at RHIC as was previously observed for measur…
The first phase of Beam Energy Scan (BES) program at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) was started in the year 2010 with the aim to study the several aspects of the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) phase diagram. The Solenoidal Tracker At RHIC (STAR) detector has taken data at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = $ 7.7, 11.5, 19.6, 27, and 39 GeV in Au+Au collisions in the years 2010 and 2011 as part of the BES programme. For these beam energies, we present the results on the particle yields, average transverse mass and particle ratios for identified particles in mid-rapidity ($|y|$ < 0.1). The measured part…
We report selected results from STAR collaboration at RHIC, focusing on jet-hadron and jet-like correlations, quarkonium suppression and collectivity, di-electron spectrum in both p+p and Au+Au, and higher moments of net-protons as well as azimuthal anisotropy from RHIC Beam Energy Scan program.
The Beam Energy Scan (BES) program is being pursued at RHIC to study the QCD phase diagram, and search for the possible QCD phase boundary and possible QCD critical point. The data for Phase-I of the BES program have been collected for Au+Au collisions at center-of-mass energies ($\sqrt{s_{NN}}$) of 7.7, 11.5, 19.6, 27, and 39 GeV. These collision energies allowed the STAR experiment to cover a wide range of baryon chemical potential $μ_{B}$ (100--400 MeV) in the QCD phase diagram. We report on several interesting results from the BES Phase-I covering the high net-baryon density region. These …
Analysis of directed flow ($v_1$) of protons, antiprotons and pions in heavy-ion collisions is performed in the range of collision energies $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 2.7--39 GeV. Simulations have been done within a three-fluid model employing a purely hadronic equation of state (EoS) and two versions of the EoS with deconfinement transitions: a first-order phase transition and a smooth crossover transition. The crossover EoS is unambiguously preferable for the description of the most part of experimental data in this energy range. The directed flow indicates that the crossover deconfinement transition…
In terms of the hadron-string-dynamics (HSD) approach we investigate the correlation function in the azimuthal angle $ψ$ of charged hadrons that is expected to be sensitive to a signal of local strong parity violation. Our analysis of Au+Au collisions is based on the recent STAR data within the RHIC Beam-Energy-Scan (BES) program. The HSD model reasonably reproduces STAR data for $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=$7.7 GeV, while there are some deviations from the experiment at the collision energy of 11.5 GeV and an increase of deviations between theory and experiment at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=$39 GeV. For reference, th…
The RHIC Beam Energy Scan focuses on the study of the QCD phase diagram --- temperature ($T$) vs. baryon chemical potential ($μ_B$). The aim is to verify some predictions from QCD: that a cross-over occurs at $μ_B$ = 0, that there exists a first-order phase transition at large $μ_B$ and a critical point at an intermediate $μ_B$. The spectra and ratios of produced particles can be used to extract $T$ and $μ_B$ in different energies and system sizes. The STAR experiment has collected data for Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=$ 7.7 GeV, 11.5 GeV, and 39 GeV in the year 2010. We present midrapid…
We present STAR measurements of K^{0}_{S}, ϕ, Λ, Ξ, and Ωat mid-rapidity from Au+Au collisions at \sqrt{s_{NN}} = 7.7, 11.5, 19.6, 27, and 39 GeV from the Beam Energy Scan (BES) program at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Nuclear modification factors and baryon-to-meson ratios are measured to understand recombination and parton energy loss mechanisms. Implications on partonic versus hadronic dynamics at low beam energies are discussed.
Recent experimental results obtained at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) will be discussed. Investigations of different nucleus-nucleus collisions in recent years focus on two main tasks, namely, the detailed study of sQGP properties and the exploration of the QCD phase diagram. Results at top RHIC energy provide important information about event shapes as well as transport and thermodynamic properties of the hot medium for various flavors. Heavy-ion collisions are a unique tool for the study of topological properties of theory. Experimental results obtained for discrete QCD symmetri…
We present the first results using the STAR detector from the Beam Energy Scan (BES) program at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC). In this program, Au ion collisions at center of mass energies (\sqrt{s_{NN}}) of 7.7, 11.5 and 39 GeV allowed RHIC to extend the study of the QCD phase diagram from baryonic chemical potential values of 20 MeV to about 400 MeV. For the high net-baryon density matter at midrapidity, formed in these collisions, we report several interesting measurements. These include the observation of difference between anti-particle and particle elliptic flow, disappearan…
Event-by-event fluctuations of global observables in relativistic heavy-ion collisions are studied as probes for the QCD phase transition and as tools to search for critical phenomena near the phase boundary. Dynamical fluctuations in mean transverse momentum, identified particle ratios and conserved quantities (such as net-charge, net-baryon) are expected to provide signatures of a de-confined state of matter. Non-monotonic behavior in the higher-moments of conserved quantities as a function of beam energy and collision centrality are proposed as signatures of the QCD critical point. To study…
We review recent results from the RHIC beam energy scan (BES) program, aimed to study the Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) phase diagram. The main goals are to search for the possible phase boundary, softening of equation of state or first order phase transition, and possible critical point. Phase-I of the BES program has recently concluded with data collection for Au+Au collisions at center-of-mass energies ($\sqrt{s_{NN}}$) of 7.7, 11.5, 19.6, 27, and 39 GeV. Several interesting results are observed for these lower energies where the net-baryon density is high at the mid-rapidity. These results …
Fudan University（复旦大学）；Shandong University（山东大学）；Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院）；Central China Normal University（华中师范大学）；University of Science and Technology of China（中国科学技术大学）；South China Normal University（华南师范大学）
The STAR experiment at RHIC has completed its first phase of the Beam Energy Scan (BES-I) program to understand the phase structure of the quantum chromodynamics (QCD). The bulk properties of the system formed in Au+Au collisions at different center of mass energy $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = $ 7.7, 11.5, 19.6, 27, and 39 GeV have been studied from the data collected in the year 2010 and 2011. The centrality and energy dependence of mid-rapidity ($|y|$ < 0.1) particle yields, and ratios are presented here. The chemical freeze-out parameters are extracted using measured particle ratios within the framework…
We perform a systematic study on the local and global spin polarization of $Λ$ and $\overlineΛ$ hyperons in relativistic heavy-ion collisions at beam energy scan energies via the (3+1)-dimensional CLVisc hydrodynamics model with AMPT and SMASH initial conditions. Following the quantum kinetic theory, we decompose the polarization vector as the parts induced by thermal vorticity, shear tensor and the spin Hall effect (SHE). We find that the polarization induced by SHE and the total polarization strongly depends on the initial conditions. At $7.7$GeV, SHE gives a sizeable contribution and even f…
We present the energy-dependent study of dielectron production in 0-80% minimum-bias Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ energies of 19.6, 27, 39, and 62.4 GeV in STAR. Invariant mass ($M_{ee}$) and transverse momentum ($p_T$) differential measurements of dielectron yields are compared to cocktail simulations of known hadronic sources and semi-leptonic charmed decays. The enhancement (excess yield) prominent in the Low-Mass Region (LMR) over the cocktail at all energies, is further compared to calculations of $ρ$ in-medium modifications. Within statistical and systematic uncertainties, we find…
We investigate the measurement of the sixth order cumulant and its ratio to the second order cumulant ($C_6/C_2$) in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The influence of statistics and different methods of centrality bin width correction on $C_6/C_2$ of net-proton multiplicity distributions is demonstrated. There is no satisfactory method to extract $C_6/C_2$ with the current statistics recorded at lower energies by STAR at RHIC. With statistics comparable to the expected statistics at the planned future RHIC Beam Energy Scan II (BES II), no energy dependence of $C_6/C_2$ is observed in central…
Beam Energy Scan (BES) program at RHIC is important to search for the existence of the critical point in the QCD phase diagram. Lattice QCD have shown that the predictions of the susceptibility of the medium formed in heavy-ion collisions can be sensitive to the various moments (mean ($μ$) =${<x>}$, variance ($σ^2$) = ${<(x-μ)^2>}$, skewness (S) = $\frac{<(x-μ)^3>}{σ^3}$ and kurtosis ($κ$) =$\frac{<(x-μ)^4>}{σ^4} -3$) of conserved quantities like net-baryon number ($Δ$B), net-electric charge ($Δ$Q) and net-strangeness ($Δ$S). Any non-monotonic behavior of the higher moments would confirm the e…
Enabled by the addition of a TOF detector system in 2010, the first phase of the Beam Energy Scan (BES-I) at RHIC allows STAR to conduct an unprecedented energy-dependent study of dielectron production within a homogeneous experimental environment, and hence close the wide gap in the QCD phase diagram between SPS and top RHIC energies. This thesis concentrates on the understanding of the LMR enhancement regarding its $M_{ee}$, $p_{T}$ and energy dependence. It studies dielectron production in Au+Au collisions at beam energies of 19.6, 27, 39, and 62.4 GeV with sufficient statistics. In conjunc…
Recent experimental results obtained in STAR experiment at the Relativistic heavy-ion collider (RHIC) with ion beams will be discussed. Investigations of different nuclear collisions in some recent years focus on two main tasks, namely, detail study of quark-gluon matter properties and exploration of the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) phase diagram. Results at top RHIC energy show clearly the collective behavior of heavy quarks in nucleus-nucleus interactions. Jet and heavy hadron measurements lead to new constraints for energy loss models for various flavors. Heavy-ion collisions are unique too…
We study statistics dependence of the probability distributions and the means of measured moments of conserved quantities, respectively. The required statistics of all interested moments and their products are estimated based on a simple simulation. We also explain why the measured moments are underestimated when the statistics are insufficient.With the statistics at RHIC/BES, the second and third order moments can be reliably obtained based on the method of Centrality bin width correction (CBWC), which can not be applied for the fourth order moments at low energy. With planning statistics at …
Results from the Beam Energy Scan (BES) program conducted by STAR experiment at RHIC are presented. The data from Phase-I of the BES program collected in Au+Au collisions at center-of-mass energies ($\sqrt{s_{NN}}$) of 7.7, 11.5, 19.6, 27, and 39 GeV cover a wide range of baryon chemical potential $μ_{B}$ (100--400 MeV) in the QCD phase diagram. Several STAR results from the BES Phase-I related to "turn-off" of strongly interacting quark--gluon plasma (sQGP) signatures and signals of QCD phase boundary are reported. In addition to this, an outlook is presented for the future BES Phase-II progr…
Probing the nature of the QCD phase transition with higher-order net-proton number fluctuation and local parton density fluctuation measurements at RHIC-STAR
In this paper, we propose an experiment for the precise measurements of very forward particle production at RHIC. The proposal is to install a LHCf-like calorimeter in the ZDC installation slot at one of the RHIC interaction points. By installing a high-resolution electromagnetic calorimeter at this location we measure the spectra of photons, neutrons and pi0 at pseudo rapidity eta above 6. The new measurements at 500 GeV p-p collisions contribute to improve the hadronic interaction models used in the cosmic-ray air shower simulations. Using a similar kinematic coverage at RHIC to that of the …
We present the first measurements of the transverse momentum spectra and azimuthal anisotropy of the identified hadrons ($π^{+}$, $π^{-}$, $K^{+}$, $K^{-}$, $p(\bar{p})$, $K^{0}_{s}$, $Λ(\barΛ)$ and $ϕ$) at mid-rapidity in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 14.5 GeV for various collision centralities. These measurements are compared to corresponding results from other BES energies. The bulk properties of the system, like the chemical and kinetic freeze-out conditions and the collectivity extracted from the measured yields of the produced particles are presented. The difference between baryo…
We present a fully three-dimensional model providing initial conditions for energy and conserved charge density distributions in heavy ion collisions at RHIC Beam Energy Scan (BES) collision energies. The model includes the dynamical deceleration of participating nucleons or valence quarks. It provides a realistic estimation of the initial baryon stopping during the early stage of collisions. We also present the implementation of the model with 3+1 dimensional hydrodynamics, which involves the addition of source terms that deposit energy and net-baryon densities produced by the initial state m…
To study the bulk properties of the quark-gluon-plasma (QGP) produced at the beam energy scan (BES) energies at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), we extend the (3+1)-dimensional viscous hydrodynamics CLVisc to include net baryon number conservation and Israel-Stewart-like equation for baryon diffusion with the NEOS-BQS equation of state, fluctuating initial conditions from Monte-Carlo Glauber model, and the afterburner SMASH. This integrated framework is shown to provide a good description of identified particle spectra, mean transverse momenta and anisotropic flows for different cen…
