Leading Hadron Production in $d$+Au and $^3$He+Au collisions in the PHENIX experiment

Abstract

Neutral pions have been measured in $^3$He+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$=200 GeV up to 20 GeV/$c$ in the RHIC Year-2014 run. The nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm AA}$ was measured and compared with that from $d$+Au collisions. The integrated $R_{\rm AA}$ as a function of $N_{\rm part}$ was calculated for $d$+Au, $^3$He+Au and Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$=200 GeV, and found to converge for $N_{\rm part}>$12, while a clear system ordering $R_{\rm dAu}$$>$$R_{\rm HeAu}$$>$$R_{\rm AuAu}$ was observed for $N_{\rm part}<$12. The fractional momentum loss for the most central $^3$He+Au collisions was also estimated.