Skip to main content
Article
Evolution of pi(0) Suppression in Au plus Au Collisions from root s(NN)=39 to 200 GeV
Physical Review Letters
  • Andrew Adare, University of Colorado, Boulder
  • Lei Ding, Iowa State University
  • Alan Dion, Iowa State University
  • John C. Hill, Iowa State University
  • Todd Kempel, Iowa State University
  • John G. Lajoie, Iowa State University
  • Alexandre Lebedev, Iowa State University
  • Craig Ogilvie, Iowa State University
  • H. Pei, Iowa State University
  • Marzia Rosati, Iowa State University
  • C. L. Silva, Iowa State University
  • Feng Wei, Iowa State University
  • et al.
  • PHENIX Collaboration, PHENIX Collaboration
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
10-9-2012
DOI
10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.152301
Abstract
Neutral-pion pi(0) spectra were measured at midrapidity (vertical bar y vertical bar < 0.35) in Au + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 39 and 62.4 GeV and compared with earlier measurements at 200 GeV in a transverse-momentum range of 1 < p(T) < 10 GeV/c. The high-p(T) tail is well described by a power law in all cases, and the powers decrease significantly with decreasing center-of-mass energy. The change of powers is very similar to that observed in the corresponding spectra for p + p collisions. The nuclear modification factors (RAA) show significant suppression, with a distinct energy, centrality, and p(T) dependence. Above p(T) = 7 GeV/c, R-AA is similar for root sNN = 62.4 and 200 GeV at all centralities. Perturbative-quantum-chromodynamics calculations that describe R-AA well at 200 GeV fail to describe the 39 GeV data, raising the possibility that, for the same p(T) region, the relative importance of initial-state effects and soft processes increases at lower energies. The p(T) range where pi(0) spectra in central Au + Au collisions have the same power as in p + p collisions is approximate to 5 and 7 GeV/c for root sNN = 200 and 62.4 GeV, respectively. For the root sNN = 39 GeV data, it is not clear whether such a region is reached, and the x(T) dependence of the x(T)-scaling power-law exponent is very different from that observed in the root sNN = 62 and 200 GeV data, providing further evidence that initial-state effects and soft processes mask the in-medium suppression of hardscattered partons to higher p(T) as the collision energy decreases.
Comments

This is an article from Physical Review Letters 109 (2012): 152301-1, doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.152301. Posted with permission.

Copyright Owner
American Physical Society
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Andrew Adare, Lei Ding, Alan Dion, John C. Hill, et al.. "Evolution of pi(0) Suppression in Au plus Au Collisions from root s(NN)=39 to 200 GeV" Physical Review Letters Vol. 109 Iss. 15 (2012) p. 152301
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/craig-ogilvie/83/