Long range phenomena in heavy ion collisions observed by the PHOBOS experiment

TL;DR

The PHOBOS experiment at RHIC observed long-range correlations in heavy ion collisions, revealing unexpected particle production features over wide pseudorapidity ranges, indicating large clusters and complex correlation structures.

Contribution

This study provides new experimental evidence of long-range correlations and large particle clusters in heavy ion collisions, challenging existing models.

Findings

Discovery of a ridge extending at least 4 units of pseudorapidity.

Evidence of particles produced in very large clusters wider than isotropic decays.

Observation of both short-range and long-range correlations in collision data.

Abstract

The PHOBOS experiment at RHIC has measured large samples of Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions using a detector with uniquely large angular acceptance. These data enable studies of particle production over a very wide pseudorapidity interval which reveal unexpected features. In the analysis of correlations with a high-$p_{_{T}}$ trigger particle ($p_{_{T}}>2.5$ GeV/c) a ridge extending at least 4 units of pseudorapidity was found. The results on forward-backward and two-particle correlations suggest that particles are produced in very large clusters which are wider in pseudorapidity than is expected for isotropic decays. Explanation of these experimental results requires models in which both short-range and long-range correlations are present.