Identified Particle Correlations at RHIC: Medium Interactions & Modified Fragmentation

TL;DR

This paper investigates how jet-induced particle correlations in heavy ion collisions at RHIC reveal medium interactions and modifications to fragmentation, especially at intermediate transverse momenta, enhancing understanding of quark-gluon plasma effects.

Contribution

It presents a systematic study of identified particle correlations at RHIC, highlighting medium modifications to jet fragmentation and particle composition at intermediate $p_T$.

Findings

Jets are significantly modified in particle composition and angular distribution in Au+Au collisions.

Two-particle correlations with identified particles are sensitive probes of medium interactions.

Understanding these correlations is crucial for exploring the physics of intermediate $p_T$ in heavy ion collisions.

Abstract

Azimuthal angle two particle correlations have been shown to be a powerful probe for extracting novel features of jet induced correlations produced in Au+Au collisions at RHIC. At intermediate $p_T$, 2-5GeV/c, the jets have been shown to be significantly modified in both their particle composition and their angular distribution compared to p+p collisions. Two-particle angular correlations with identified particles provide sensitive probes of both the interactions between hard scattered partons and the medium. The systematics of these correlations are essential to understanding the physics of intermediate $p_T$ in heavy ion collisions.