No Arabic abstract
Results of a two-particle correlation analysis of high-$p_t$ charged particles in Pb-Au collisions at 158$A$ GeV/$c$ are presented. The data have been recorded by the CERES experiment at the CERN-SPS. The correlations are studied as function of transverse momentum, particle charge and collision centrality. We observe a jet-like structure in the vicinity of a high-$p_t$ trigger particle and a broad back-to-back distribution. The yields of associated particles per trigger show a strong dependence on the trigger/associate charge combination. A comparison to PYTHIA confirms the jet-like pattern at the near-side but suggests a strong modification at the away-side, implying significant energy transfer of the hard-scattered parton to the medium.
We present results on transverse momentum correlations of charged particle pairs produced in Pb-Au collisions at 158$A$ GeV/$c$ at the Super Proton Synchrotron. The transverse momentum correlations have been studied as a function of collision centrality, angular separation of the particle pairs, transverse momentum and charge sign. We demonstrate that the results are in agreement with previous findings in scale-independent analyses at the same beam energy. Employing the two-particle momentum correlator $<Delta p_{t,i}, Delta p_{t,j}>$ and the cumulative $p_t$ variable $x(p_t)$, we identify, using the scale-dependent approach presented in this paper, different sources contributing to the measured correlations, such as quantum and Coulomb correlations, elliptic flow and mini-jet fragmentation.
A high statistics study of high-$p_t$ two-particle azimuthal correlations in Pb-Au at $sqrt{s_{rm NN}}=17.2$ GeV, performed by the CERES experiment at the CERN-SPS, is presented. A broad away-side correlation with significant dip at $Deltaphiapproxpi$ is observed. The shape and magnitude of the correlation is similar to measurements at RHIC. In comparison to PYTHIA calculations, we observe a significant excess of soft particles at the away-side. A study of charge correlations between trigger and associated particles disfavors vacuum fragmentation of the away-side jet and suggests significant energy transfer of the hard-scattered parton to the medium.
The elliptic flow of Lambda hyperons has been measured by the NA49 collaboration at the CERN-SPS in semi-central Pb+Pb collisions at 158A GeV. The standard method of correlating particles with the event plane was used. Measurements of v2 near mid-rapidity are reported as a function of rapidity, centrality and transverse momentum. Elliptic flow of Lambda particles increases both with the impact parameter and with the transverse momentum. It is compared with v2 for pions and protons as well as with model calculations. The observation of significant elliptic flow and its mass dependence suggest strong collective behaviour of the matter produced in collisions of heavy nuclei already at the SPS. Scaling properties of elliptic flow of different particle species have been tested at 158A GeV. The limited pT range of the data does not allow for a decisive test of the coalescence model.
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.
During the 1999 lead run, CERES has measured hadron and electron-pair production at 40 A GeV/c beam momentum with the spectrometer upgraded by the addition of a radial TPC. Here the analysis of lambda and antilambda will be presented.