Observation of D[superscript 0] Meson Nuclear Modifications in Au + Au Collisions at √s[subscript NN] = 200 GeV
We report the first measurement of charmed-hadron (D[superscript 0]) production via the hadronic decay channel (D[superscript 0] → K[superscript −] + π[superscript +]) in Au + Au collisions at √s[subscript NN] =200 GeV with the STAR experiment. The charm production cross section per nucleon-nucleon...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
| Published: |
American Physical Society
2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/90904 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0816-200X |
| Summary: | We report the first measurement of charmed-hadron (D[superscript 0]) production via the hadronic decay channel (D[superscript 0] → K[superscript −] + π[superscript +]) in Au + Au collisions at √s[subscript NN] =200 GeV with the STAR experiment. The charm production cross section per nucleon-nucleon collision at midrapidity scales with the number of binary collisions, N[subscript bin], from p + p to central Au + Au collisions. The D[superscript 0] meson yields in central Au + Au collisions are strongly suppressed compared to those in p + p scaled by N[subscript bin], for transverse momenta p[subscript T] > 3 GeV/c, demonstrating significant energy loss of charm quarks in the hot and dense medium. An enhancement at intermediate p[subscript T] is also observed. Model calculations including strong charm-medium interactions and coalescence hadronization describe our measurements. |
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