Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
8184580 | Nuclear Physics A | 2011 | 9 Pages |
Abstract
We review some important results from the PHENIX experiment at RHIC. They were obtained in a unique environment for studying QCD bulk matter at temperatures and densities that surpass the limits where hadrons exist as individual entities, so raising to prominence the quark-gluon degrees of freedom. We present measurements of nuclear modification factors for neutral pions, light favors (strange hadrons), direct-photons and non-photonic electrons from decays of particles carrying charm or beauty quarks. We interpret the large suppression of hadron production at high transverse momenta as resulting from a large energy loss by the precursor parton on its path through the dense matter, primarily driven by gluon radiation. This dense QCD matter responds to energy loss in a pattern consistent with that expected from a hydrodynamic fluid. Further, its elliptic flow measurements suggest that the hadronization of bulk partonic matter exhibits collectivity with effective partonic degrees of freedom. The results are shown as a function of transverse momentum, centrality in different collision systems and energies.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Physics and Astronomy
Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Authors
Rachid Nouicer, the PHENIX Collaboration the PHENIX Collaboration,