Identified high-$p_{T}$ spectra in Cu+Cu collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=200 GeV

TL;DR

This paper presents measurements of identified hadron spectra at high transverse momentum in Cu+Cu collisions at 200 GeV, revealing system size dependence of hadron suppression and baryon-meson enhancement, key features of QCD matter formation.

Contribution

It provides new high-$p_{T}$ spectra data for Cu+Cu collisions, bridging the gap between smaller and larger systems, and analyzes the system size effects on key QCD phenomena.

Findings

System size influences the magnitude of hadron suppression.

Baryon to meson enhancement varies with system size.

Results support the creation of a new QCD state in heavy-ion collisions.

Abstract

We report new results on identified (anti)proton and charged pion spectra at large transverse momenta (3<$p_{T}$<10 GeV/c) from Cu+Cu collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=200 GeV using the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). This study explores the system size dependence of two novel features observed at RHIC with heavy ions: the hadron suppression at high-$p_{T}$ and the anomalous baryon to meson enhancement at intermediate transverse momenta. Both phenomena could be attributed to the creation of a new form of QCD matter. The results presented here bridge the system size gap between the available pp and Au+Au data, and allow the detailed exploration for the on-set of the novel features. Comparative analysis of all available 200 GeV data indicates that the system size is a major factor determining both the magnitude of the hadron spectra suppression at large transverse momenta and the relative baryon to meson enhancement.