Nuclear collisions recreate conditions in the universe microseconds after the Big Bang. Only a very small fraction of the emitted fragments are light nuclei, but these states are of fundamental interest. We report the observation of antihypertritons
- composed of an antiproton, antineutron, and antilambda hyperon - produced by colliding gold nuclei at high energy. Our analysis yields 70 +- 17 antihypertritons and 157 +- 30 hypertritons. The measured yields of hypertriton (antihypertriton) and helium3 (antihelium3) are similar, suggesting an equilibrium in coordinate and momentum space populations of up, down, and strange quarks and antiquarks, unlike the pattern observed at lower collision energies. The production and properties of antinuclei, and nuclei containing strange quarks, have implications spanning nuclear/particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology.
We present the first measurements of identified hadron production, azimuthal anisotropy, and pion interferometry from Au+Au collisions below the nominal injection energy at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) facility. The data were collected
using the large acceptance STAR detector at $sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 9.2 GeV from a test run of the collider in the year 2008. Midrapidity results on multiplicity density (dN/dy) in rapidity (y), average transverse momentum (<pT>), particle ratios, elliptic flow, and HBT radii are consistent with the corresponding results at similar $sqrt{s_{NN}}$ from fixed target experiments. Directed flow measurements are presented for both midrapidity and forward rapidity regions. Furthermore the collision centrality dependence of identified particle dN/dy, <pT>, and particle ratios are discussed. These results also demonstrate the readiness of the STAR detector to undertake the proposed QCD critical point search and the exploration of the QCD phase diagram at RHIC.
Parity-odd domains, corresponding to non-trivial topological solutions of the QCD vacuum, might be created during relativistic heavy-ion collisions. These domains are predicted to lead to charge separation of quarks along the orbital momentum of the
system created in non-central collisions. To study this effect, we investigate a three particle mixed harmonics azimuthal correlator which is a P-even observable, but directly sensitive to the charge separation effect. We report measurements of this observable using the STAR detector in Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at $sqrt{s_{NN}}$=200 and 62~GeV. The results are presented as a function of collision centrality, particle separation in rapidity, and particle transverse momentum. A signal consistent with several of the theoretical expectations is detected in all four data sets. We compare our results to the predictions of existing event generators, and discuss in detail possible contributions from other effects that are not related to parity violation.
The STAR Collaboration at RHIC presents a systematic study of high transverse momentum charged di-hadron correlations at small azimuthal pair separation dphino, in d+Au and central Au+Au collisions at $rts = 200$ GeV. Significant correlated yield for
pairs with large longitudinal separation deta is observed in central Au+Au, in contrast to d+Au collisions. The associated yield distribution in detano$times$dphi can be decomposed into a narrow jet-like peak at small angular separation which has a similar shape to that found in d+Au collisions, and a component which is narrow in dphi and textcolor{black}{depends only weakly on} $deta$, the ridge. Using two systematically independent analyses, textcolor{black}{finite ridge yield} is found to persist for trigger $pt > 6$ GeVc, indicating that it is correlated with jet production. The transverse momentum spectrum of hadrons comprising the ridge is found to be similar to that of bulk particle production in the measured range ($2 < pt < 4 GeVc$).
We present results for the measurement of $phi$ meson production via its charged kaon decay channel $phi to K^+K^-$ in Au+Au collisions at $sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=62.4$, 130, and 200 GeV, and in $p+p$ and $d$+Au collisions at $sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV from
the STAR experiment at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The midrapidity ($|y|<0.5$) $phi$ meson transverse momentum ($p_{T}$) spectra in central Au+Au collisions are found to be well described by a single exponential distribution. On the other hand, the $p_{T}$ spectra from $p+p$, $d$+Au and peripheral Au+Au collisions show power-law tails at intermediate and high $p_{T}$ and are described better by Levy distributions. The constant $phi/K^-$ yield ratio vs beam species, collision centrality and colliding energy is in contradiction with expectations from models having kaon coalescence as the dominant mechanism for $phi$ production at RHIC. The $Omega/phi$ yield ratio as a function of $p_{T}$ is consistent with a model based on the recombination of thermal $s$ quarks up to $p_{T}sim 4$ GeV/$c$, but disagrees at higher transverse momenta. The measured nuclear modification factor, $R_{dAu}$, for the $phi$ meson increases above unity at intermediate $p_{T}$, similar to that for pions and protons, while $R_{AA}$ is suppressed due to the energy loss effect in central Au+Au collisions. Number of constituent quark scaling of both $R_{cp}$ and $v_{2}$ for the $phi$ meson with respect to other hadrons in Au+Au collisions at $sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$=200 GeV at intermediate $p_{T}$ is observed. These observations support quark coalescence as being the dominant mechanism of hadronization in the intermediate $p_{T}$ region at RHIC.
Identified charged particle spectra of $pi^{pm}$, $K^{pm}$, $p$ and $pbar$ at mid-rapidity ($|y|<0.1$) measured by the $dedx$ method in the STAR-TPC are reported for $pp$ and d+Au collisions at $snn = 200$ GeV and for Au+Au collisions at 62.4 GeV, 13
0 GeV, and 200 GeV. ... [Shortened for arXiv list. Full abstract in manuscript.]
We present a systematic analysis of two-pion interferometry in Au+Au collisions at $sqrt{s_{rm{NN}}}$ = 62.4 GeV and Cu+Cu collisions at $sqrt{s_{rm{NN}}}$ = 62.4 and 200 GeV using the STAR detector at RHIC. The multiplicity and transverse momentum d
ependences of the extracted correlation lengths (radii) are studied. The scaling with charged particle multiplicity of the apparent system volume at final interaction is studied for the RHIC energy domain. The multiplicity scaling of the measured correlation radii is found to be independent of colliding system and collision energy.
Three-particle azimuthal correlation measurements with a high transverse momentum trigger particle are reported for pp, d+Au, and Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV by the STAR experiment. Dijet structures are observed in pp, d+Au and peripheral Au+Au colli
sions. An additional structure is observed in central Au+Au data, signaling conical emission of correlated charged hadrons. The conical emission angle is found to be 1.37 +- 0.02(stat) +0.06-0.07(syst), independent of pt.
We report results for $K/pi$ fluctuations from Au+Au collisions at $sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 19.6, 62.4, 130, and 200 GeV using the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Our results for $K/pi$ fluctuations in central collisions show little dep
endence on the incident energies studied and are on the same order as results observed by NA49 at the Super Proton Synchrotron in central Pb+Pb collisions at $sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 12.3 and 17.3 GeV. We also report results for the collision centrality dependence of $K/pi$ fluctuations as well as results for $K^{+}/pi^{+}$, $K^{-}/pi^{-}$, $K^{+}/pi^{-}$, and $K^{-}/pi^{+}$ fluctuations. We observe that the $K/pi$ fluctuations scale with the multiplicity density, $dN/deta$, rather than the number of participating nucleons.
