Speaker
Dr
Richard Hollis
(University of California, Riverside)
Description
The flexibility of RHIC to collide different nuclei provides experiments with a rich resource to systematically test models and scaling behaviors and compare the results to those from Au+Au collisions. For an initial evaluation of the Cu+Au collision system, PHENIX has earmarked several measurements for fast analysis, in particular, forward/backward and central-rapidity J/psi production. These collisions promise an array of unique geometrical configurations including odd harmonics and events where the Cu nucleus is completely embedded within the Au. Such geometries present an opportunity to probe the "core" and "corona" regions of the collision (which are strongly asymmetric in Cu+Au) by measuring the reaction plane dependence of particle production. J/psi production may be more sensitive to the least dense part of the collision at the surface - the corona - thus providing a handle of the relative size of the Cu- versus Au-side corona. An important component of this analysis is the understanding of the light-hadron vn(n=1,2,3,4) and the correlation between the vn event planes in these collisions, which will reveal the underlying hydrodynamical properties of the system. In particular, the odd harmonics from the Cu+Au system offer sensitivity to v3 generated from the collision geometry as opposed to fluctuations in a symmetric system. The analysis status of the recently taken U+U collision data, which offers some of the same advantages as Cu+Au, as well as a wider range of energy densities, will also be presented.
Primary author
Dr
Richard Hollis
(University of California, Riverside)
Peer reviewing
Paper
Paper files:
