Profiling hot and dense nuclear medium with high transverse momentum hadrons produced in d+Au and Au+Au collisions by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC

Abstract

PHENIX measurements of high transverse momentum ($p_T$) identified hadrons in $d$+Au and Au+Au collisions are presented. The nuclear modification factors ($R_{d{\rm A}}$ and $R_{\rm AA}$) for $\pi^0$ and $\eta$ are found to be very consistent in both collision systems, respectively. Using large amount of $p+p$ and Au+Au datasets, the fractional momentum loss ($S_{\rm loss}$) and the path-length dependent yield of $\pi^0$ in Au+Au collisions are obtained. The hadron spectra in the most central $d$+Au and the most peripheral Au+Au collisions are studied. The spectra shapes are found to be similar in both systems, but the yield is suppressed in the most peripheral Au+Au collisions.