System-size dependence of open-heavy-flavor production in nucleus-nucleus collisions at sNN\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200 GeV

Collaboration
Oct 30, 2013
13 pages
Published in:
  • Phys.Rev.C 90 (2014) 3, 034903
  • Published: Sep 5, 2014
e-Print:
Experiments:

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Abstract: (APS)

The PHENIX Collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has measured open-heavy-flavor production in Cu+Cu collisions at sNN=200 GeV through the measurement of electrons at midrapidity that originate from semileptonic decays of charm and bottom hadrons. In peripheral Cu+Cu collisions an enhanced production of electrons is observed relative to p+p collisions scaled by the number of binary collisions. In the transverse momentum range from 1 to 5 GeV/c the nuclear modification factor is RAA1.4. As the system size increases to more central Cu+Cu collisions, the enhancement gradually disappears and turns into a suppression. For pT>3 GeV/c, the suppression reaches RAA0.8 in the most central collisions. The pT and centrality dependence of RAA in Cu+Cu collisions agree quantitatively with RAA in d+Au and Au+Au collisions, if compared at a similar number of participating nucleons Npart.

Note:
  • 380 authors, 13 pages, 12 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. C. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.html
  • 25.75.Cj
  • heavy ion: scattering
  • copper
  • heavy quark: hadroproduction
  • charmed particle: semileptonic decay
  • bottom particle: semileptonic decay
  • electron: yield
  • nuclear matter: effect
  • transverse momentum dependence
  • impact parameter: dependence