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Title: Observation of Excess J / ψ Yield at Very Low Transverse Momenta in Au + Au Collisions at s N N = 200 GeV and U + U Collisions at s N N = 193 GeV

Journal Article · · Physical Review Letters
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We report on the first measurements of J/ψ production at very low transverse momentum ($$p_T <$$ 0.2 GeV/c) in hadronic Au + Au collisions at $$\sqrt{s_{NN}} =$$ 200 GeV and U + U collisions at $$\sqrt{s_{NN}} =$$ 193 GeV. Remarkably, the inferred nuclear modification factor of J/ψ at midrapidity in Au + Au (U + U) collisions reaches about 24 (52) for $$p_T <$$ 0.05 GeV/c in the 60%–80% collision centrality class. This noteworthy enhancement cannot be explained by hadronic production accompanied by cold and hot medium effects. In addition, the dN/dt distribution of J/ψ for the very low $$p_T$$ range is presented for the first time. The distribution is consistent with that expected from the Au nucleus and shows a hint of interference. Comparison of the measurements to theoretical calculations of coherent production shows that the excess yield can be described reasonably well and reveals a partial disruption of coherent production in semicentral collisions, perhaps due to the violent hadronic interactions. Incorporating theoretical calculations, the results strongly suggest that the dramatic enhancement of J/ψ yield observed at extremely low $$p_T$$ originates from coherent photon-nucleus interactions. In particular, coherently produced J/ψ’s in violent hadronic collisions may provide a novel probe of the quark-gluon plasma.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP); National Science Foundation (NSF); Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation; National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China; Ministry of Education of China; National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF); Czech Science Foundation (GACR); Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic; Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NRDI); Hungarian Ministry of Human Capacities; Government of India; National Science Centre of Poland (NCN); Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia; ROSATOM of Russia; German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Contributing Organization:
STAR Collaboration
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0017982; SC0012704; AC02-05CH11231; SC0015636
OSTI ID:
1566931
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1523247; OSTI ID: 1594832; OSTI ID: 1616089; OSTI ID: 1787584
Report Number(s):
BNL-211606-2019-JAAM; PRLTAO; 132302
Journal Information:
Physical Review Letters, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters Vol. 123 Journal Issue: 13; ISSN 0031-9007
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 18 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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