Azimuthal charged-particle correlations and possible local strong parity violation.
Parity-odd domains, corresponding to nontrivial topological solutions of the QCD vacuum, might be created during relativistic heavy-ion collisions. These domains are predicted to lead to charge separation of quarks along the system's orbital momentum axis. We investigate a three-particle azimuthal correlator which is a P even observable, but directly sensitive to the charge separation effect. We report measurements of charged hadrons near center-of-mass rapidity with this observable in Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at ?sNN=200??GeV using the STAR detector. A signal consistent with several expectations from the theory is detected. We discuss possible contributions from other effects that are not related to parity violation.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Science Foundation (NSF); Sloan Foundation; EPSRC United Kingdom
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 1050163
- Report Number(s):
- ANL-HEP-PR-10-30; PRLTAO; TRN: US1204543
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review Letters, Vol. 103, Issue 25; ISSN 0031-9007
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- ENGLISH
Similar Records
Observation of charge-dependent azimuthal correlations and possible local strong parity violation in heavy-ion collisions
Observation of charge-dependent azimuthal correlations and possible local strong parity violation in heavy ion collisions.