Understanding the J/psi Production Mechanism at PHENIX
Date
2010-01-01
Authors
Kempel, Todd
Major Professor
Advisor
John G. Lajoie
Committee Member
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Abstract
The large mass of the charm quark, along with the abundance of J/ψ mesons observed from proton-proton collisions at PHENIX, allow for new measurements which are sensitive to basic properties of QCD. Two measurements are presented in this document: a transverse single-spin asymmetry (SSA) of J/ψ production and the angular distribution for decay leptons in various reference frames. The decay distribution is directly sensitive to the J/ψ production mechanism, while the transverse SSA is also sensitive to the distribution of gluons in a transversely polarized proton. Taken together, the two measurements provide a wealth of information about the formation of a J/ψ meson.
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dissertation
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Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2010