Nuclear modification and elliptic flow measurements for $\phi$ mesons at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV d+Au and Au+Au collisions by PHENIX

TL;DR

This paper presents the first measurements of nuclear modification factors and elliptic flow for phi mesons at RHIC, revealing suppression patterns in Au+Au collisions and no suppression in d+Au, with flow measurements consistent with other particles.

Contribution

It provides novel experimental data on phi meson suppression and flow at 200 GeV, enhancing understanding of quark-gluon plasma properties.

Findings

Phi mesons show suppression in Au+Au collisions similar to pi0.

No suppression observed for phi mesons in d+Au collisions.

Elliptic flow of phi mesons aligns with other identified particles.

Abstract

We report the first results of the nuclear modification factors and elliptic flow of the phi mesons measured by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC in high luminosity Au+Au collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 200 GeV. The nuclear modification factors R_AA and R_CP of the phi follow the same trend of suppression as pi0's in Au+Au collisions. In d+Au collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 200 GeV, the phi mesons are not suppressed. The elliptic flow of the phi mesons, measured in the minimum bias Au+Au events, is statistically consistent with other identified particles.