Measurement of cold nuclear matter effects for inclusive $J/\psi$ in $p$+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{\mathrm{NN}}}}$ = 200 GeV

TL;DR

This study measures cold nuclear matter effects on inclusive J/ψ production in p+Au collisions at 200 GeV, revealing suppression at low transverse momentum and minimal effects at high momentum, aiding understanding of quark-gluon plasma formation.

Contribution

First measurement of J/ψ cold nuclear matter effects in p+Au collisions at RHIC, using the nuclear modification factor across a broad pT range.

Findings

Approximately 30% suppression for pT<2 GeV/c

J/ψ R_pAu approaches unity for pT>3 GeV/c

Strong suppression at high pT in Au+Au collisions attributed to hot medium effects

Abstract

Measurement by the STAR experiment at RHIC of the cold nuclear matter (CNM) effects experienced by inclusive $J/\psi$ at mid-rapidity in 0-100\% $p$+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{\mathrm{NN}}}}$ = 200 GeV is presented. Such effects are quantified utilizing the nuclear modification factor, $R_{p\mathrm{Au}}$, obtained by taking a ratio of $J/\psi$ yield in $p$+Au collisions to that in $p$+$p$ collisions scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions. The differential $J/\psi$ yield in both $p$+$p$ and $p$+Au collisions is measured through the dimuon decay channel, taking advantage of the trigger capability provided by the Muon Telescope Detector in the RHIC 2015 run. Consequently, the $J/\psi$ $R_{p\mathrm{Au}}$ is derived within the transverse momentum ($p_{\mathrm{T}}$) range of 0 to 10 GeV/$c$. A suppression of approximately 30% is observed for $p_{\mathrm{T}}<2$ GeV/$c$, while $J/\psi$ $R_{p\mathrm{Au}}$ becomes compatible with unity for $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ greater than 3 GeV/$c$, indicating the $J/\psi$ yield is minimally affected by the CNM effects at high $p_{\mathrm{T}}$. Comparison to a similar measurement from 0-20% central Au+Au collisions reveals that the observed strong $J/\psi$ suppression above 3 Gev/$c$ is mostly due to the hot medium effects, providing strong evidence for the formation of the quark-gluon plasma in these collisions. Several model calculations show qualitative agreement with the measured $J/\psi$ $R_{p\mathrm{Au}}$, while their agreement with the $J/\psi$ yields in $p$+$p$ and $p$+Au collisions is worse.