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Can $\phi$ mesons give an answer to the baryon puzzle at RHIC? (2005)

Abstract
The PHENIX experiment at RHIC has observed a large enhancement of baryon and anti-baryon production at ~ 2-5 GeV/c, compared to expectations from jet fragmentation. While a number of theoretical interpretations of the data are available, there is not yet a definitive answer to the “baryon puzzle”. We investigate the centrality dependence of -meson production at mid-rapidity in Au + Au collisions with $sqrt {^{s}NN}=200 GeV$. Comparison with the proton and anti-proton spectra reveal similar shapes, as expected for soft production described by hydrodynamics. However, the absolute yields show a different centrality dependence. The nuclear modification factors for $\phi$ are similar to those of pions, rather than (anti)protons that have similar mass. At intermediate , baryon/meson effects seem to be more important than the mass effects, in support of recombination models.

Publication details
Download http://hal.in2p3.fr/in2p3-00025489/en/
Publisher HAL - CCSd - CNRS
Contributors Jeanine Pellet
Repository CCSd/HAL : e-articles server (based on gBUS) (France)
Keywords Physics/High Energy Physics - Experiment
Type ARTJOURNAL