Disappearance of back-to-back high-pT hadron correlations in central Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s NN ] =200 GeV

Probing the Short-Distance Structure of the Quark-Gluon Plasma with Energy Correlators

Energy-energy correlators (EECs) are promising observables to study the dynamics of jet evolution in the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) through its imprint on angular scales in the energy flux of final-state particles. We carry out the first complete calculation of EECs using realistic simulations of high-energy heavy-ion collisions and dissect the different dynamics underlying the final distribution through analyses of jet propagation in a uniform medium. The EECs of γ-jets in heavy-ion collisions are found to be enhanced by the medium response from elastic scatterings instead of induced gluon radiation at large angles. In the meantime, EECs are suppressed at small angles due to energy loss and transverse momentum broadening of jet shower partons. These modifications are further shown to be sensitive to the angular scale of the in-medium interaction, as characterized by the Debye screening mass. Experimental verification and measurement of such modifications will shed light on this scale and the short-distance structure of the QGP in heavy-ion collisions.

Jet Transport Coefficient at the Large Hadron Collider Energies in a Color String Percolation Approach

Within the color string percolation model (CSPM), jet transport coefficient, q^, is calculated for various multiplicity classes in proton-proton and centrality classes in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the Large Hadron Collider energies for a better understanding of the matter formed in ultra-relativistic collisions. q^ is studied as a function of final state charged particle multiplicity (pseudorapidity density at midrapidity), initial state percolation temperature and energy density. The CSPM results are then compared with different theoretical calculations from the JET Collaboration those incorporate particle energy loss in the medium.

Cone-Size Dependence of Jet Suppression in Heavy-Ion Collisions

The strong suppression of high-p_{T} jets in heavy-ion collisions is a result of elastic and inelastic energy loss suffered by the jet multiprong collection of color charges that are resolved by medium interactions. Hence, quenching effects depend on the fluctuations of the jet substructure that are probed by the cone-size dependence of the spectrum. In this Letter, we present the first complete, analytic calculation of the inclusive R-dependent jet spectrum in PbPb collisions at LHC energies, including resummation of energy loss effects from hard, vacuumlike emissions occurring in the medium and modeling of soft energy flow and recovery at the jet cone. Both the geometry of the collision and the local medium properties, such as the temperature and fluid velocity, are given by a hydrodynamic evolution of the medium, leaving only the coupling constant in the medium as a free parameter. The calculation yields a good description of the centrality and p_{T} dependence of jet suppression for R=0.4 together with a mild cone-size dependence, which is in agreement with recent experimental results. Gauging the theoretical uncertainties, we find that the largest sensitivity resides in the leading logarithmic approximation of the phase space of resolved splittings, which can be improved systematically, while nonperturbative modeling of the soft-gluon sector is of relatively minor importance up to large cone sizes.

Different Faces of Confinement

In this review, we provide a short outlook of some of the current most popular pictures and promising approaches to non-perturbative physics and confinement in gauge theories. A qualitative and by no means exhaustive discussion presented here covers such key topics as the phases of QCD matter, the order parameters for confinement, the central vortex and monopole pictures of the QCD vacuum structure, fundamental properties of the string tension, confinement realisations in gauge-Higgs and Yang–Mills theories, magnetic order/disorder phase transition, among others.

Jet quenching and medium response in high-energy heavy-ion collisions: a review

Jet quenching has been used successfully as a hard probe to study properties of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) in high-energy heavy-ion collisions at both the relativistic heavy-ion collider and the large hadron collider. We will review recent progresses in theoretical and phenomenological studies of jet quenching with jet transport models. Special emphasis is given to effects of jet-induced medium response on a wide variety of experimental observables and their implications on extracting transport properties of the QGP in heavy-ion collisions.

Gradient Tomography of Jet Quenching in Heavy-Ion Collisions

Transverse momentum broadening and energy loss of a propagating parton are dictated by the space-time profile of the jet transport coefficient q[over ^] in a dense QCD medium. The spatial gradient of q[over ^] perpendicular to the propagation direction can lead to a drift and asymmetry in parton transverse momentum distribution. Such an asymmetry depends on both the spatial position along the transverse gradient and path length of a propagating parton as shown by numerical solutions of the Boltzmann transport in the simplified form of a drift-diffusion equation. In high-energy heavy-ion collisions, this asymmetry with respect to a plane defined by the beam and trigger particle (photon, hadron, or jet) with a given orientation relative to the event plane is shown to be closely related to the transverse position of the initial jet production in full event-by-event simulations within the linear Boltzmann transport model. Such a gradient tomography can be used to localize the initial jet production position for more detailed study of jet quenching and properties of the quark-gluon plasma along a given propagation path in heavy-ion collisions.

Direct real photons in relativistic heavy ion collisions

Direct real photons are arguably the most versatile tools to study relativistic heavy ion collisions. They are produced, by various mechanisms, during the entire space-time history of the strongly interacting system. Also, being colorless, most the time they escape without further interaction, i.e. they are penetrating probes. This makes them rich in information, but hard to decypher and interpret. This review presents the experimental and theoretical developments related to direct real photons since the 1970s, with a special emphasis on the recently emerged 'direct photon puzzle', the simultaneous presence of large yields and strong azimuthal asymmetries of photons in heavy ion collisions, an observation that so far eluded full and coherent explanation.

Measurements of Two-Particle Correlations in e^{+}e^{-} Collisions at 91 GeV with ALEPH Archived Data

Measurements of two-particle angular correlations of charged particles emitted in hadronic Z decays are presented. The archived e^{+}e^{-} annihilation data at a center-of-mass energy of 91 GeV were collected with the ALEPH detector at LEP between 1992 and 1995. The correlation functions are measured over a broad range of pseudorapidity and full azimuth as a function of charged particle multiplicity. No significant long-range correlation is observed in either the lab coordinate analysis or the thrust coordinate analysis, where the latter is sensitive to a medium expanding transverse to the color string between the outgoing qq[over ¯] pair from Z boson decays. The associated yield distributions in both analyses are in better agreement with the prediction from the pythia v6.1 event generator than from herwig v7.1.5. They provide new insights to showering and hadronization modeling. These results serve as an important reference to the observed long-range correlation in proton-proton, proton-nucleus, and nucleus-nucleus collisions.

The electron-ion collider: assessing the energy dependence of key measurements

We provide an assessment of the energy dependence of key measurements within the scope of the machine parameters for a US based electron-ion collider (EIC) outlined in the EIC White Paper. We first examine the importance of the physics underlying these measurements in the context of the outstanding questions in nuclear science. We then demonstrate, through detailed simulations of the measurements, that the likelihood of transformational scientific insights is greatly enhanced by making the energy range and reach of the EIC as large as practically feasible.

Mass Ordering of Spectra from Fragmentation of Saturated Gluon States in High-Multiplicity Proton-Proton Collisions

The mass ordering of mean transverse momentum ⟨p_{T}⟩ and of the Fourier harmonic coefficient v_{2}(p_{T}) of azimuthally anisotropic particle distributions in high energy hadron collisions is often interpreted as evidence for the hydrodynamic flow of the matter produced. We investigate an alternative initial state interpretation of this pattern in high-multiplicity proton-proton collisions at the LHC. The QCD Yang-Mills equations describing the dynamics of saturated gluons are solved numerically with initial conditions obtained from the color-glass-condensate-based impact-parameter-dependent glasma model. The gluons are subsequently fragmented into various hadron species employing the well established Lund string fragmentation algorithm of the pythia event generator. We find that this initial state approach reproduces characteristic features of bulk spectra, in particular, the particle mass dependence of ⟨p_{T}⟩ and v_{2}(p_{T}).

Measurement of inclusive jet production and nuclear modifications in pPb collisions at [Formula: see text]

Inclusive jet production in pPb collisions at a nucleon-nucleon (NN) center-of-mass energy of [Formula: see text] is studied with the CMS detector at the LHC. A data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 30.1 nb[Formula: see text] is analyzed. The jet transverse momentum spectra are studied in seven pseudorapidity intervals covering the range [Formula: see text] in the NN center-of-mass frame. The jet production yields at forward and backward pseudorapidity are compared and no significant asymmetry about [Formula: see text] is observed in the measured kinematic range. The measurements in the pPb system are compared to reference jet spectra obtained by extrapolation from previous measurements in pp collisions at [Formula: see text]. In all pseudorapidity ranges, nuclear modifications in inclusive jet production are found to be small, as predicted by next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations that incorporate nuclear effects in the parton distribution functions.

Jet-hadron correlations in √[s(NN)]=200 GeV p+p and central Au+Au collisions

Azimuthal angular correlations of charged hadrons with respect to the axis of a reconstructed (trigger) jet in Au+Au and p+p collisions at √[s(NN)]=200  GeV in STAR are presented. The trigger jet population in Au+Au collisions is biased toward jets that have not interacted with the medium, allowing easier matching of jet energies between Au+Au and p+p collisions while enhancing medium effects on the recoil jet. The associated hadron yield of the recoil jet is significantly suppressed at high transverse momentum (pTassoc) and enhanced at low pTassoc in 0%-20% central Au+Au collisions compared to p+p collisions, which is indicative of medium-induced parton energy loss in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions.

Quadrupole anisotropy in dihadron azimuthal correlations in central d+Au collisions at √(s(NN))=200 GeV

The PHENIX collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) reports measurements of azimuthal dihadron correlations near midrapidity in d+Au collisions at √(s(NN))=200 GeV. These measurements complement recent analyses by experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) involving central p+Pb collisions at √(s(NN))=5.02 TeV, which have indicated strong anisotropic long-range correlations in angular distributions of hadron pairs. The origin of these anisotropies is currently unknown. Various competing explanations include parton saturation and hydrodynamic flow. We observe qualitatively similar, but larger, anisotropies in d+Au collisions at RHIC compared to those seen in p+Pb collisions at the LHC. The larger extracted v2 values in d+Au are consistent with expectations from hydrodynamic calculations owing to the larger expected initial-state eccentricity compared with that from p+Pb collisions. When both are divided by an estimate of the initial-state eccentricity the scaled anisotropies follow a common trend with multiplicity that may extend to heavy ion data at RHIC and the LHC, where the anisotropies are widely thought to arise from hydrodynamic flow.

Particle-yield modification in jetlike azimuthal dihadron correlations in Pb-Pb collisions at √s(NN)=2.76 TeV

The yield of charged particles associated with high-p(t) trigger particles (8<p(t)<15 GeV/c) is measured with the ALICE detector in Pb-Pb collisions at √s(NN)=2.76 TeV relative to proton-proton collisions at the same energy. The conditional per-trigger yields are extracted from the narrow jetlike correlation peaks in azimuthal dihadron correlations. In the 5% most central collisions, we observe that the yield of associated charged particles with transverse momenta p(t)>3 GeV/c on the away side drops to about 60% of that observed in pp collisions, while on the near side a moderate enhancement of 20%-30% is found.

Jets, Mach cones, hot spots, ridges, harmonic flow, dihadron, and γ-hadron correlations in high-energy heavy-ion collisions

Within the AMPT Monte Carlo model, fluctuations in the initial transverse parton density are shown to lead to harmonic flows. The net back-to-back dihadron azimuthal correlation after subtraction of contributions from harmonic flows still has a double peak that is independent of the initial geometric triangularity and unique to the jet-induced Mach cone and expanding hot spots distorted by radial flow. The longitudinal structure of hot spots also leads to a nearside ridge in dihadron correlation with a large rapidity gap. By successively randomizing the azimuthal angle of the transverse momenta and positions of initial partons, one can isolate the effects of jet-induced medium excitation and expanding hot spots on the dihadron azimuthal correlation. The double peaks in the net dihadron and γ-hadron correlation are quantitatively different since the later is caused only by jet-induced Mach cone.

Explanation of dijet asymmetry in Pb-Pb collisions at the Large Hadron Collider

We investigate the medium modification of a partonic jet shower traversing in a hot quark-gluon plasma. We derive and solve a differential equation that governs the evolution of the radiated gluon distribution as the jet propagates through the medium. Energy contained inside the jet cone is lost by dissipation through elastic collisions with the medium and by scattering of shower partons to larger angles. We find that the jet energy loss at early times is dominated by medium effects on the vacuum radiation, and by medium-induced radiation effects at late times. We compare our numerical results for the nuclear modification of the dijet asymmetry with that recently reported by the ATLAS Collaboration.

Mach cone induced by γ-triggered jets in high-energy heavy-ion collisions

Medium excitation by jet shower propagation inside a quark-gluon plasma is studied within a linear Boltzmann transport and a multiphase transport model. Contrary to the naive expectation, it is the deflection of both the jet shower and the Mach-cone-like excitation in an expanding medium that is found to give rise to a double-peak azimuthal particle distribution with respect to the initial jet direction. Such a deflection is the strongest for hadron-triggered jets which are often produced close to the surface of a dense medium due to trigger bias and travel against or tangential to the radial flow. Without such trigger bias, the effect of deflection on γ-jet showers and their medium excitation is weaker. Comparative study of hadron and γ-triggered particle correlations can therefore reveal the dynamics of jet-induced medium excitation in high-energy heavy-ion collisions.

Azimuthal anisotropy of π⁰ production in Au+Au collisions at sqrt((s)NN)=200 GeV: path-length dependence of jet quenching and the role of initial geometry

We have measured the azimuthal anisotropy of π⁰ production for 1<p(T)<18  GeV/c for Au+Au collisions at sqrt((s)NN)=200  GeV. The observed anisotropy shows a gradual decrease for 3≲p(T)≲7-10  GeV/c, but remains positive beyond 10  GeV/c. The magnitude of this anisotropy is underpredicted, up to at least ∼10  GeV/c, by current perturbative QCD (PQCD) energy-loss model calculations. An estimate of the increase in anisotropy expected from initial-geometry modification due to gluon saturation effects and fluctuations is insufficient to account for this discrepancy. Calculations that implement a path-length dependence steeper than what is implied by current PQCD energy-loss models show reasonable agreement with the data.

High transverse momentum triggered correlations over a large pseudorapidity acceptance in Au + Au collisions at square root(s(NN)) = 200 GeV

A measurement of two-particle correlations with a high transverse momentum trigger particle (p(T)(trig) > 2.5 GeV/c) is presented for Au+Au collisions at square root(s(NN)) = 200 GeV over the uniquely broad longitudinal acceptance of the PHOBOS detector (-4 < Delta eta < 2). A broadening of the away-side azimuthal correlation compared to elementary collisions is observed at all Delta eta. As in p+p collisions, the near side is characterized by a peak of correlated partners at small angle relative to the trigger particle. However, in central Au+Au collisions an additional correlation extended in Delta eta and known as the "ridge" is found to reach at least |Delta eta| approximately = 4. The ridge yield is largely independent of Delta eta over the measured range, and it decreases towards more peripheral collisions. For the chosen (p(T)(trig) cut, the ridge yield is consistent with zero for events with less than roughly 100 participating nucleons.

Topology studies of hydrodynamics using two-particle correlation analysis

The effects of fluctuating initial conditions are studied in the context of relativistic heavy ion collisions where a rapidly evolving system is formed. Two-particle correlation analysis is applied to events generated with the NEXSPHERIO hydrodynamic code, starting with fluctuating nonsmooth initial conditions (IC). The results show that the nonsmoothness in the IC survives the hydroevolution and can be seen as topological features of the angular correlation function of the particles emerging from the evolving system. A long range correlation is observed in the longitudinal direction and in the azimuthal direction a double peak structure is observed in the opposite direction to the trigger particle. This analysis provides clear evidence that these are signatures of the combined effect of tubular structures present in the IC and the proceeding collective dynamics of the hot and dense medium.

Tomography of high-energy nuclear collisions with photon-hadron correlations

Within the next-to-leading order (NLO) perturbative QCD (PQCD) parton model, suppression of away-side hadron spectra associated with a high pT photon due to parton energy loss is studied in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. Because of the sharp falloff of the gamma-jet spectrum in momentum imbalance pTjet-pTgamma>0 in NLO PQCD, hadron spectra at large zT=pTh/pTgamma greater than approximately 1 are more susceptible to parton energy loss and therefore are dominated by surface emission of gamma-associated jets with almost no energy loss, whereas small zT hadrons mainly come from the volume emission of jets with reduced energy. These lead to different centrality dependence of the gamma-hadron suppression for different values of zT. Therefore, a complete measurement of the suppression of gamma-triggered hadron spectra allows a true tomographic study of the quark-gluon plasma in high-energy heavy-ion collisions.

Away-side asymmetry of jet correlation relative to the reaction plane: a sensitive probe for jet in-medium modifications

We propose a new observable based on two-particle azimuth correlation to study the away-side medium response in midcentral Au+Au collisions. We argue that a left-right asymmetry may appear at the away side by selecting triggers separately in the left and right sides of the reaction plane. A simple model estimation suggests that the magnitude of such asymmetry could reach 30% with details depending on the medium response mechanisms. This asymmetry, if observed, can help to distinguish competing theoretical models.

Indications of conical emission of charged hadrons at the BNL relativistic heavy ion collider

Three-particle azimuthal correlation measurements with a high transverse momentum trigger particle are reported for pp, d+Au, and Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV by the STAR experiment. Dijet structures are observed in pp, d+Au and peripheral Au+Au collisions. 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 theta=1.37+/-0.02(stat)-0.07+0.06(syst), independent of p_{ perpendicular}.

Modified dihadron fragmentation functions in hot and nuclear matter

Medium modification of dihadron fragmentation functions due to gluon bremsstrahlung induced by multiple partonic scattering is studied in both deep-inelastic scattering (DIS) off large nuclei and high-energy heavy-ion collisions within the same framework of twist expansion. The modification for dihadrons is found to closely follow that for single hadrons, leading to a weak nuclear suppression of their ratios in DIS experiments. A mild enhancement of the near-side correlation of two high transverse momentum hadrons with increasing centrality is found in heavy-ion collisions due to trigger bias and the rise in parton energy loss with centrality. Successful comparisons between theory and experiment for multihadron observables in both confining and deconfined media offer comprehensive evidence for partonic energy loss as the mechanism of jet modification in dense matter.

Dihadron tomography of high-energy nuclear collisions in next-to-leading order perturbative QCD

Dihadron spectra in high-energy heavy-ion collisions are studied within the next-to-leading order perturbative QCD parton model with modified jet fragmentation functions due to jet quenching. High-p(T) back-to-back dihadrons are found to originate mainly from jet pairs produced close and tangential to the surface of the dense matter. However, a substantial fraction also comes from jets produced at the center with finite energy loss. Consequently, high-p(T) dihadron spectra are found to be more sensitive to the initial gluon density than the single hadron spectra that are more dominated by surface emission. A simultaneous chi(2) fit to both the single and dihadron spectra can be achieved within a range of the energy loss parameter E(0)=1.6-2.1 GeV/fm. Because of the flattening of the initial jet production spectra at square root s=5.5 TeV, high p(T) dihadrons are found to be more robust as probes of the dense medium.

Has the QCD critical point been signaled by observations at the BNL relativistic heavy ion collider?

The shear viscosity to entropy ratio (eta/s) is estimated for the hot and dense QCD matter created in Au+Au collisions at BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (square root[s_{NN}]=200 GeV). A very low value is found; eta/s approximately 0.1, which is close to the conjectured lower bound (1/4pi). It is argued that such a low value is indicative of thermodynamic trajectories for the decaying matter which lie close to the QCD critical end point.

Direct observation of dijets in central Au+Au collisions at sqrt[sNN]=200 GeV

The STAR Collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider reports measurements of azimuthal correlations of high transverse momentum (pT) charged hadrons in Au+Au collisions at higher pT than reported previously. As (pT) is increased, a narrow, back-to-back peak emerges above the decreasing background, providing a clear dijet signal for all collision centralities studied. Using these correlations, we perform a systematic study of dijet production and suppression in nuclear collisions, providing new constraints on the mechanisms underlying partonic energy loss in dense matter.

Effects of jet quenching on the hydrodynamical evolution of quark-gluon plasma

We study the effects of jet quenching on the hydrodynamical evolution of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) fluid created in a heavy-ion collision. In jet quenching, a hard QCD parton, before fragmenting into a jet of hadrons, deposits a fraction of its energy in the medium, leading to suppressed production of high-pT hadrons. Assuming that the deposited energy quickly thermalizes, we simulate the subsequent hydrodynamic evolution of the QGP fluid. For partons moving at supersonic speed, vp>cs, and sufficiently large energy loss, a shock wave forms leading to conical flow. The PHENIX Collaboration recently suggested that observed structures in the azimuthal angle distribution might be caused by conical flow. We show here that, for phenomenologically acceptable values of parton energy loss, conical flow effects are too weak to explain these structures.

Dense-medium modifications to jet-induced hadron pair distributions in Au+Au collisions at sqrt s NN=200 GeV

Azimuthal correlations of jet-induced high-p(T) charged hadron pairs are studied at midrapidity in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s(NN)]=200 GeV. The distribution of jet-associated partner hadrons (1.0<p(T)<2.5 GeV/c) per trigger hadron (2.5<p(T)<4.0 GeV/c) is found to vary with collision centrality, in both shape and yield, indicating a significant effect of the nuclear collision medium on the jet fragmentation process.

Azimuthal angle correlations for rapidity separated Hadron pairs in d+Au collisions at square root of sNN=200 GeV

Deuteron-gold (d+Au) collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider provide ideal platforms for testing QCD theories in dense nuclear matter at high energy. In particular, models suggesting strong saturation effects for partons carrying small nucleon momentum fraction (x) predict modifications to jet production at forward rapidity (deuteron-going direction) in d+Au collisions. We report on two-particle azimuthal angle correlations between charged hadrons at forward/backward (deuteron/gold going direction) rapidity and charged hadrons at midrapidity in d+Au and p+p collisions at square root of sNN=200 GeV. Jet structures observed in the correlations are quantified in terms of the conditional yield and angular width of away-side partners. The kinematic region studied here samples partons in the gold nucleus with x~0.1 to ~0.01. Within this range, we find no x dependence of the jet structure in d+Au collisions.

Cherenkov radiation from jets in heavy-ion collisions

The possibility of Cherenkov-like gluon bremsstrahlung in dense matter is studied. We point out that the occurrence of Cherenkov radiation in dense matter is sensitive to the presence of partonic bound states. This is illustrated by a calculation of the dispersion relation of a massless particle in a simple model in which it couples to two different massive resonance states. We further argue that detailed spectroscopy of jet correlations can directly probe the index of refraction of this matter, which in turn will provide information about the mass scale of these partonic bound states.

Double-hadron leptoproduction in the nuclear medium

The first measurements of double-hadron production in deep-inelastic scattering within the nuclear medium were made with the HERMES spectrometer at DESY HERA using a 27.6 GeV positron beam. By comparing data for deuterium, nitrogen, krypton, and xenon nuclei, the influence of the nuclear medium on the ratio of double-hadron to single-hadron yields was investigated. Nuclear effects on the additional hadron are clearly observed, but with little or no difference among nitrogen, krypton, or xenon, and with smaller magnitude than effects seen on previously measured single-hadron multiplicities. The data are compared with models based on partonic energy loss or prehadronic scattering and with a model based on a purely absorptive treatment of the final-state interactions. Thus, the double-hadron ratio provides an additional tool for studying modifications of hadronization in nuclear matter.

Nonuniversality aspects of nonlinear k(perpendicular) factorization for hard dijets

The origin of breaking of conventional linear k(perpendicular) factorization for hard processes in a nuclear environment is by now well established. The realization of the nonlinear nuclear k(perpendicular) factorization which emerges instead was found to change from one jet observable to another. Here we demonstrate how the pattern of nonlinear k(perpendicular) factorization, and especially the role of diffractive interactions, in the production of dijets off nuclei depends on the color properties of the underlying pQCD subprocess.

Distributions of charged hadrons associated with high transverse momentum particles in pp and Au+Au collisions at sqrt[sNN]=200 GeV

Charged hadrons in [EQUATION: SEE TEXT] associated with particles of [EQUATION: SEE TEXT] are reconstructed in pp and Au+Au collisions at sqrt[sNN]=200 GeV. The associated multiplicity and p magnitude sum are found to increase from pp to central Au+Au collisions. The associated p distributions, while similar in shape on the nearside, are significantly softened on the awayside in central Au+Au relative to pp and not much harder than that of inclusive hadrons. The results, consistent with jet quenching, suggest that the awayside fragments approach equilibration with the medium traversed.

Saturation of azimuthal anisotropy in Au + Au collisions at (square root)s(NN) = 62-200 GeV

New measurements are presented for charged hadron azimuthal correlations at midrapidity in Au+Au collisions at (square root)s(NN) = 62.4 and 200 GeV. They are compared to earlier measurements obtained at (square root)s(NN) = 130 GeV and in Pb + Pb collisions at (square root)s(NN) = 17.2 GeV. Sizeable anisotropies are observed with centrality and transverse momentum (pT) dependence characteristic of elliptic flow (upsilon2). For a broad range of centralities, the observed magnitudes and trends of the differential anisotropy, upsilon2(pT), change very little over the collision energy range (square root)s(NN) = 62-200 GeV, indicating saturation of the excitation function for upsilon2 at these energies. Such a saturation may be indicative of the dominance of a very soft equation of state for (square root)s(NN) approximately 60-200 GeV.

Correlated emission of hadrons from recombination of correlated partons

We discuss different sources of hadron correlations in relativistic heavy ion collisions. We show that correlations among partons in a quasithermal medium can lead to the correlated emission of hadrons by quark recombination and argue that this mechanism offers a plausible explanation for the dihadron correlations in the few GeV/c momentum range observed in Au+Au collisions at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.

Azimuthal anisotropy and correlations at large transverse momenta in p + p and Au + Au collisions at square root sNN=200 GeV

Results on high transverse momentum charged particle emission with respect to the reaction plane are presented for Au + Au collisions at square root s(NN)=200 GeV. Two- and four-particle correlations results are presented as well as a comparison of azimuthal correlations in Au + Au collisions to those in p + p at the same energy. The elliptic anisotropy v(2) is found to reach its maximum at p(t) approximately 3 GeV/c, then decrease slowly and remain significant up to p(t) approximately 7-10 GeV/c. Stronger suppression is found in the back-to-back high-p(t) particle correlations for particles emitted out of plane compared to those emitted in plane. The centrality dependence of v(2) at intermediate p(t) is compared to simple models based on jet quenching.

Semihard scattering unraveled from collective dynamics by two-pion azimuthal correlations in 158A GeV/c Pb+Au collisions

Elliptic flow and two-particle azimuthal correlations of charged hadrons and high-p(T) pions (p(T)>1 GeV/c) have been measured close to midrapidity in 158A GeV/c Pb+Au collisions by the CERES experiment. Elliptic flow (v(2)) rises linearly with p(T) to a value of about 10% at 2 GeV/c. Beyond p(T) approximately 1.5 GeV/c, the slope decreases considerably, possibly indicating a saturation of v(2) at high p(T). Two-pion azimuthal anisotropies for p(T)>1.2 GeV/c exceed the elliptic flow values by about 60% in midcentral collisions. These nonflow contributions are attributed to nearside and back-to-back jetlike correlations, the latter exhibiting centrality dependent broadening.

Transverse-momentum and collision-energy dependence of high-pT hadron suppression in Au+Au collisions at ultrarelativistic energies

We report high statistics measurements of inclusive charged hadron production in Au+Au and p+p collisions at sqrt[s(NN)]=200 GeV. A large, approximately constant hadron suppression is observed in central Au+Au collisions for 5<p(T)<12 GeV/c. The collision energy dependence of the yields and the centrality and p(T) dependence of the suppression provide stringent constraints on theoretical models of suppression. Models incorporating initial-state gluon saturation or partonic energy loss in dense matter are largely consistent with observations. We observe no evidence of p(T)-dependent suppression, which may be expected from models incorporating jet attenuation in cold nuclear matter or scattering of fragmentation hadrons.

Back-to-back correlations of high-p(T) hadrons in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

We investigate the suppression factor and the azimuthal correlation function for high p(T) hadrons in central Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s(NN)]=200 GeV by using a dynamical model in which hydrodynamics is combined with explicitly traveling jets. We study the effects of parton energy loss in a hot medium, intrinsic k(T) of partons in a nucleus, and p (perpendicular) broadening of jets on the back-to-back correlations of high p(T) hadrons. Parton energy loss is found to be a dominant effect on the reduction of the awayside peaks in the correlation function.

Evidence from d+Au measurements for final-state suppression of high-p(T) hadrons in Au+Au collisions at RHIC

We report measurements of single-particle inclusive spectra and two-particle azimuthal distributions of charged hadrons at high transverse momentum (high p(T)) in minimum bias and central d+Au collisions at sqrt[s(NN)]=200 GeV. The inclusive yield is enhanced in d+Au collisions relative to binary-scaled p+p collisions, while the two-particle azimuthal distributions are very similar to those observed in p+p collisions. These results demonstrate that the strong suppression of the inclusive yield and back-to-back correlations at high p(T) previously observed in central Au+Au collisions are due to final-state interactions with the dense medium generated in such collisions.