Speaker
Dr
Sarah Campbell
(Columbia University)
Description
The MPC-EX detector is a Si-W preshower detector located in front of PHENIX's well-established Muon Piston Calorimeter. The combined energy measurement from these two detectors in concert with the improved position resolution and detailed early shower information provided by the MPC-EX expands PHENIX's neutral pion reconstruction capabilities in the rapidity range 3.1 < $|\eta|$ < 3.8 out to high energies, E < 80 GeV, a factor of four improvement over our current ability and close to the luminosity limit. Forward $\pi^0$ measurements in $p$$+$Au provide a signal to study nuclear shadowing, initial state energy loss and/or gluon saturation effects as a function of rapidity, centrality and energy. Furthermore, by looking at angular correlations between neutral pions and varying their rapidity and $p_T$, we can examine the flow-like ridge correlations with low $p_T$ $\pi^0$s and selectively sample correlations from dijet events, extending down to an $x$ of $10^{-3}$, with high $p_T$ $\pi^0$s. In 2015, the MPC-EX was installed in PHENIX and had its first data taking during in RHIC's $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200$ GeV transversely polarized $p$$+$$p$ and $p$$+$Au collision running. The status of the analysis of this new data will be presented focusing on neutral pion reconstruction and related observables.
| On behalf of collaboration: | PHENIX |
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Author
Dr
Sarah Campbell
(Columbia University)
