PHENIX Results on Jet Modification Using π⁰-Hadron Correlations in 200 GeV Au+Au Collisions

In the initial stages of heavy ion collisions, the constituent partons of the colliding nuclei can undergo collisions with large momentum transfer. These hard-scattered partons then traverse the hot dense medium known as the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) and lose energy, leading to the modification of the jets they produce relative to jets in baseline p+p collisions. Measurement of jet modification can, therefore, allow us to quantify the properties of the QGP.

 

This talk will show results on jet modification measured via two-particle correlations, in which a high momentum particle (here, the π⁰) serves as a jet proxy, and all charged hadrons in the event are correlated to it via their angular separation from the trigger particle, △φ. This talk will present new measurements of the modification to the integrated per-trigger yield of charged hadrons, I_AA, and the width of the angular distribution of charged hadrons given by the Gaussian width σ. Additionally, the I_AA vs. △φ, which probes jet modification at the substructure level, will be shown. We will show results from the PHENIX data set of Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV taken during the 2014 operational period, which will be combined with data from the 2010 and 2011 operational periods for enhanced statistical precision.