Production of omega mesons in p+p, d+Au, Cu+Cu, and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV

TL;DR

This paper reports measurements of omega meson production in various collision systems at 200 GeV, revealing suppression patterns at high transverse momentum in central heavy-ion collisions, consistent across decay channels and collision types.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive comparison of omega meson production across different collision systems and decay channels at RHIC energies, highlighting suppression effects in central collisions.

Findings

Omega production is suppressed at high transverse momentum in central collisions.

Consistent results across leptonic and hadronic decay channels.

Suppression pattern similar to pi^0 and eta mesons in central collisions.

Abstract

The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) has measured omega meson production via leptonic and hadronic decay channels in p+p, d+Au, Cu+Cu, and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The invariant transverse momentum spectra measured in different decay modes give consistent results. Measurements in the hadronic decay channel in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions show that omega production has a suppression pattern at high transverse momentum, similar to that of pi^0 and eta in central collisions, but no suppression is observed in peripheral collisions. The nuclear modification factors, R_AA, are consistent in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at similar numbers of participant nucleons.