Preservation of the Direct Photon and Neutral Meson Analysis in the PHENIX Experiment at RHIC

TL;DR

This paper discusses the preservation of complex physics analyses in the PHENIX experiment at RHIC, focusing on reproducibility and the use of modern tools like REANA for analysis preservation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach for preserving complex physics analyses using containerization, code management, documentation, and REANA platform at RHIC.

Findings

Successful preservation of a key PHENIX analysis demonstrated reproducibility.

Partitioning analysis into self-contained tasks improved manageability.

Use of REANA facilitated reproducible execution of complex software.

Abstract

The PHENIX Collaboration has actively pursued a Data and Analysis Preservation program since 2019, the first such dedicated effort at RHIC. A particularly challenging aspect of this endeavor is preservation of complex physics analyses, selected for their scientific importance and the value of the specific techniques developed as a part of the research. For this, we have chosen one of the most impactful PHENIX results, the joint study of direct photons and neutral pions in high-energy d+Au collisions. To ensure reproducibility of this analysis going forward, we partitioned it into self-contained tasks and used a combination of containerization techniques, code management, and robust documentation. We then leveraged REANA (the platform for reproducible analysis developed at CERN) to run the required software. We present our experience based on this example, and outline our future plans for analysis preservation.