Pion Interferometry in AuAu Collisions at sqrt{s_{NN}}=200 GeV

We present pion-Xi correlation analysis in Au-Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)= 200 GeV and sqrt(s_NN) = 62.4 GeV, performed using the STAR detector at RHIC. A Xi*(1530) resonance signal is observed for the first time in Au-Au collisions. Experimental data are compared with theoretical predictions. The strength of the Xi* peak is reproduced in the correlation function assuming that pions and Xis emerge from a system in collective expansion.

Two-pion interferometry measurements in $d$$+$Au and Au$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{{NN}}}=200$ GeV are used to extract and compare the Gaussian source radii R$_{{\rm out}}$, R$_{{\rm side}}$, and R$_{{\rm long}}$, which characterize the space-time extent of the emission sources. The comparisons, which are performed as a function of collision centrality and the mean transverse momentum for pion pairs, indicate strikingly similar patterns for the $d$$+$Au and Au$+$Au systems....

The combination of the ionization energy loss (dE/dx) from Time Projection Chamber (TPC) at $\simeq8$% resolution and multi-gap resistive plate chamber time-of-flight (TOF) at 85$ps$ provides powerful particle identification. We present spectra of identified charged pions from transverse momentum $p_T\simeq0.2$ GeV/c to ~7-8 GeV/c in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=62.4$ GeV. Physics implications will be discussed.

Inclusive spectra of charged particles at midrapidity in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 130 GeV and 200 GeV were measured with the STAR detector at RHIC. The measured mean transverse momentum shows a characteristic dependence on charged particle multiplicity and beam energy in Au+Au collisions that is distinctly different from pp, pbarp and ee collisions. A comparison with model predictions is discussed.

Transverse momentum spectra of neutral pions in the range 1 < p_T < 10 GeV/c have been measured at mid-rapidity by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The pi^0 multiplicity in central reactions is significantly below the yields measured at the same sqrt(s_NN) in peripheral Au+Au and p+p reactions scaled by the number of nucleon-nucleon collisions. For the most central bin, the suppression factor is ~2.5 at p_T = 2 GeV/c and increases to ...

We report a particle source imaging analysis based on two-pion correlations in high multiplicity Au + Au collisions at beam energies between 2 and 8A GeV. We apply the imaging technique introduced by Brown and Danielewicz, which allows a model-independent extraction of source functions with useful accuracy out to relative pion separations of about 20 fm. The extracted source functions have Gaussian shapes. Values of source functions at zero separation are almost constant acro...

Measurements of neutral pion production at midrapidity in sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions as a function of transverse momentum, p_T, collision centrality, and angle with respect to reaction plane are presented. The data represent the final pi^0 results from the PHENIX experiment for the first RHIC Au+Au run at design center-of-mass-energy. They include additional data obtained using the PHENIX Level-2 trigger with more than a factor of three increase in statistics over ...

To study the nature of the quark-hadron phase transition, it is important to investigate the space-time structure of the hadron-emitting source in heavy-ion collisions. Measurements of HBT correlations have proven to be a powerful tool to gain information about the source. In these proceedings, we report the current status of the analysis of source parameters obtained from L\'evy fits to the measured one-dimensional two-pion correlation functions in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt...

Theoretical models suggest that the Quantum Chromo-Dynamics (QCD) phase diagram has a critical point demarcating the order of transition between the two phases: the hadron gas, in which the quarks are confined and the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP). The central goal of the experiments with relativistic heavy-ion collisions is to create and study such form of matter called the QGP and understand the QCD phase diagram. The STAR (Solenoidal Tracker At RHIC) detector is pertinent for t...

An extended pion source, which can be temporarily created by a high energy nuclear collision, will also absorb and distort the outgoing pions. We discuss how this effect alters the interferometric pattern of the two-pion momentum correlation function. In particular, we show that the two-pion correlation function decreases rapidly when the opening angle between the pions increases. The opening-angle dependence should serve as a new means of obtaining information about the pion...