Jets and Dijets in Au+Au and p+p Collisions at RHIC

Abstract

Recent data from RHIC suggest novel nuclear effects in the production of high $p_T$ hadrons. We present results from the STAR detector on high $p_T$ angular correlations in Au+Au and p+p collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV/c. These two-particle angular correlation measurements verify the presence of a partonic hard scattering and fragmentation component at high $p_T$ in both central and peripheral Au+Au collisions. When triggering on a leading hadron with $p_T>$4 GeV, we observe a quantitative agreement between the jet cone properties in p+p and all centralities of Au+Au collisions. This quantitative agreement indicates that nearly all hadrons with $p_T>$4 GeV/c come from jet fragmentation and that jet fragmentation properties are not substantially modified in Au+Au collisions. STAR has also measured the strength of back-to-back high $p_T$ charged hadron correlations, and observes a small suppression of the back-to-back correlation strength in peripheral collisions, and a nearly complete disappearance of back-to-back correlations in central Au+Au events. These phenomena, toghether with the observed strong suppression of inclusive yields and large value of elliptic flow at high $p_T$, are consistent with a model where high $p_T$ hadrons come from partons created near the surface of the collision region, and where partons that originate or propagate towards the center of the collision region are substantially slowed or completely absorbed.

Proceedings of Quark Matter 2002, to appear in Nucl. Phys. A

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