Speaker
Description
Heavy quarks are useful probes of nuclear matter since at RHIC energies as they are produced only in initial parton collisions, and thus are sensitive to effects at all stages of the collisions. Because of their large mass, b quarks are expected to lose less energy through gluon radiation than lighter quarks. $J/\psi$ production from the $B \rightarrow J/\psi$ decay is a powerful observable to measure the nuclear modification of $B$ mesons in the relevant $p_T$ range ($p_T$ << $m_b$).
PHENIX has measured the production of non-prompt $J/\psi$ from $B \rightarrow J/\psi$ decays in the dimuon channel at forward and backward rapidities, by the analysis of displaced vertex muons from the $B$ meson decay with the Forward Silicon Vertex Detector (FVTX). Comparison of the measured yields in the asymmetric Cu+Au, $p$+Au systems and in $p+p$ collisions can provide insights into the contributions of hot and cold nuclear matter effects.
| Preferred Track | Open Heavy Flavors |
|---|---|
| Collaboration | PHENIX |
