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Title: Centrality-dependent direct photon p{sub t} spectra in Au+Au collisions at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) energy {radical}(s{sub NN})=200 GeV

Journal Article · · Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics
;  [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Institute of Particle Physics, Central China Normal University, Wuhan (China)
  2. Department of Physics, University of Tokyo, 113-0033 (Japan)
  3. Laboratoire SUBATECH, University of Nantes, IN2P3/CNRS, Ecole des Mines, Nantes (France)

We calculate the centrality dependence of transverse momentum (p{sub t}) spectra for direct photons in Au+Au collisions at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) energy {radical}(s{sub NN})=200 GeV, based on a realistic data-constrained (3+1)-dimensional hydrodynamic description of the expanding hot and dense matter, a reasonable treatment of the propagation of partons and their energy loss in the fluid, and a systematic study of the main sources of direct photons. The resultant p{sub t} spectra agree with recent PHENIX data in a broad p{sub t} range. The competition among the different direct photon sources is investigated at various centralities. Parton energy loss in the plasma is considered for photons from fragmentation and jet-photon conversion, which causes about 40% decrease in the total contribution. In the high p{sub t} region, the observed R{sub AA} of photons is centrality independent at the accuracy of 5% based on a realistic treatment of energy loss. We also link the different behavior of R{sub AA} for central and peripheral collisions, in the low p{sub t} region, to the fact that the plasma in central collisions is hotter than that in peripheral ones.

OSTI ID:
21202708
Journal Information:
Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics, Vol. 79, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevC.79.014905; (c) 2009 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0556-2813
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English