TY - JOUR
T1 - Observation of Excess J /ψ Yield at Very Low Transverse Momenta in Au+Au Collisions at sNN =200 GeV and U+ U Collisions at sNN =193 GeV
AU - Adam, J.
AU - Adamczyk, L.
AU - Adams, J. R.
AU - Adkins, J. K.
AU - Kabana, S.
AU - STAR Collaboration
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 authors. Published by the American Physical Society.
PY - 2019/9/27
Y1 - 2019/9/27
N2 - We report on the first measurements of J/ψ production at very low transverse momentum (pT<0.2 GeV/c) in hadronic Au+Au collisions at sNN=200 GeV and U+U collisions at sNN=193 GeV. Remarkably, the inferred nuclear modification factor of J/ψ at midrapidity in Au+Au (U+U) collisions reaches about 24 (52) for pT<0.05 GeV/c in the 60%-80% collision centrality class. This noteworthy enhancement cannot be explained by hadronic production accompanied by cold and hot medium effects. In addition, the dN/dt distribution of J/ψ for the very low pT range is presented for the first time. The distribution is consistent with that expected from the Au nucleus and shows a hint of interference. Comparison of the measurements to theoretical calculations of coherent production shows that the excess yield can be described reasonably well and reveals a partial disruption of coherent production in semicentral collisions, perhaps due to the violent hadronic interactions. Incorporating theoretical calculations, the results strongly suggest that the dramatic enhancement of J/ψ yield observed at extremely low pT originates from coherent photon-nucleus interactions. In particular, coherently produced J/ψ's in violent hadronic collisions may provide a novel probe of the quark-gluon plasma.
AB - We report on the first measurements of J/ψ production at very low transverse momentum (pT<0.2 GeV/c) in hadronic Au+Au collisions at sNN=200 GeV and U+U collisions at sNN=193 GeV. Remarkably, the inferred nuclear modification factor of J/ψ at midrapidity in Au+Au (U+U) collisions reaches about 24 (52) for pT<0.05 GeV/c in the 60%-80% collision centrality class. This noteworthy enhancement cannot be explained by hadronic production accompanied by cold and hot medium effects. In addition, the dN/dt distribution of J/ψ for the very low pT range is presented for the first time. The distribution is consistent with that expected from the Au nucleus and shows a hint of interference. Comparison of the measurements to theoretical calculations of coherent production shows that the excess yield can be described reasonably well and reveals a partial disruption of coherent production in semicentral collisions, perhaps due to the violent hadronic interactions. Incorporating theoretical calculations, the results strongly suggest that the dramatic enhancement of J/ψ yield observed at extremely low pT originates from coherent photon-nucleus interactions. In particular, coherently produced J/ψ's in violent hadronic collisions may provide a novel probe of the quark-gluon plasma.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85073061405
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.132302
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.132302
M3 - Article
C2 - 31697545
AN - SCOPUS:85073061405
SN - 0031-9007
VL - 123
JO - Physical Review Letters
JF - Physical Review Letters
IS - 13
M1 - 132302
ER -