hyperon

global polarization in Au+Au collisions at RHIC

I Selyuzhenkov for the STAR Collaboration
Wayne State University, 666 W Hancock, Detroit MI 48201, USA

arXiv:nucl-ex/0702001v1 31 Jan 2007

E-mail: Ilya.Selyuzhenkov@wayne.edu

Abstract

We present the hyperon

global polarization in Au+Au collisions at sNN = 62 GeV and

200 GeV measured with the STAR detector at RHIC. The observed hyperon
global polarization is
consistent with zero, what is in agreement with recent measurements of global polarization, as well as
(1020) and K 0 (892) vector mesons spin alignment with respect to the reaction plane. The possible
dependence of the global polarization on relative azimuthal angle between the orbital momentum of
the system and the hyperon 3-momentum is discussed. The corresponding systematic uncertainty due
to detector acceptance is found to be less than 20%.

Introduction

vector mesons is defined by terms proportional to

higher quark polarization powers, Pq2 [3]. Recently
more realistic calculations [4] of the global quark polarization were performed within a model based on
the HTL (Hard Thermal Loop) gluon propagator.
The resulting hyperon polarization was predicted
to be in the range from 0.03 to 0.15 depending on
the temperature of the QGP formed.

Particles produced in non-central relativistic

nucleus-nucleus collisions are predicted to be globally polarized along the direction of the systems
orbital angular momentum, perpendicular to the
reaction plane [1, 2, 3]. The origin of this global
polarization is in the transformation of the orbital
angular momentum into the particles spin due to
spin-orbital coupling. Among different observable
consequences of this effect are the hyperons global
polarization and global spin alignment of vector
mesons.

Preliminary results of hyperon global polarization, (1020) and K 0 (892) vector mesons spin
alignment with respect to reaction plane were recently presented [5, 6, 7]. In this paper we present

the results for hyperon

global polarization in

The global spin-orbital transformation can hap- Au+Au collisions at sN N =62 and 200 GeV as a

pen at various evolution stages of the system and its function of transverse momentum and pseudoraobservation can provide important information on pidity measured with the STAR (Solenoidal Tracker
the hadronization mechanism and the origin of par- At RHIC) detector.
ticles spin. One specific scenario for such spin-orbit
transformation via the polarized quark phase is dis global polarization

cussed in [1]. Assuming that the strange and non- 2

strange quark polarizations, Ps and Pq , are equal,

in the particular case of exclusive parton recombi- global polarization can be determined from the
nation scenario [1], the values of the global polar- angular distribution of its decay products with reization PH for , , and hyperons appear to be spect to the system orbital momentum L:
similar to those for quarks: PH = Pq 0.3. At the
same time, the predicted global spin alignment of

dN
1 + P cos ,
d cos
1

(1)

0.1

STAR Preliminary

0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02

global polarization, =
where P is the
decay parameter, is
0.642 0.013 [8] is the
the angle between the systems orbital momentum
decay products in
L and the 3-momentum of s

the s rest frame.

global polarization
The observable used in the

-0.02

measurement is derived in [6]:

-0.04

8
=
hsin p RP i.

-0.06

(2)

-0.08
-0.1

Here
is the azimuthal angle of the anti-protons
rest frame. Angle
3-momentum, measured in s
brackets in this equation denote averaging over the
rest
solid angle of anti-protons 3-momentum in s
frame and over all directions of the system orbital
momentum L, or, in other words, over all possible
orientations of the reaction plane.
particles were reconstructed from
In this paper,
p + , using charged
their weak decay topology,
p

-1

-0.5

0.5

Figure 1: (Color online) Global polarization

pseudorapidof hyperons
as a function of
ity. Black circles show the results for Au+Au

collisions at sNN =200 GeV (centrality region 20-70%) and red squares indicate the re
sults for Au+Au collisions at sNN =62 GeV
(centrality region 0-80%). Only statistical er-

rors are shown.

tracks measured in the STAR main TPC (Time
Projection Chamber) [9]. The reaction plane angle in Eq. 2 is estimated by calculating the soresults are consistent with those from hyperon
called event plane flow vector QEP [10, 11]. This
global polarization measurements [6].
first-order event plane vector was determined from
charged tracks measured in two STAR Forward
4 Acceptance corrections and
TPCs [12].

systematic uncertainties
3

Results

The derivation of Eq. 2 assumes a perfect recon

struction acceptance for hyperon.
For the case
of non-perfect detector one has to correct results
by detector acceptance function [13]:
Z


dp dH
4
H
A pH , pp sin p . (3)
A0 (pH
,

)
=
t

4 2

Figures 1 and 2 present hyperons

global polar
ization as a function of pseudorapidity and transverse momentum. Black circles (red squares) show
the result of the measurement for Au+Au colli
sions at sN N =200 GeV (62 GeV) with the STAR
detector.
Within statistical errors no deviation
from zero has been observed. The pt -integrated
global polarization result is dominated by the region

p
t < 3 GeV, where measurements are consistent

with zero. The constant line fits for the hyperon

global polarization as a function of pseudorapidity
give: P = (1.7 10.7) 103 for Au+Au collisions

at sN N =200 GeV (centrality region 20-70%) and

P = (17.3 11.0) 103 for Au+Au collisions at

sN N =62 GeV (centrality region 0-80%). These

Here dp = dp sin p dp is the solid angle of the

hyperon decay products 3-momentum pp in the
hyperon rest frame; pH (H ) is the hyperon 3

momentum (azimuthal angle), and A pH , pp is a
function to account for detector acceptance. For the

hyperons
reconstructed with STAR detector, this
function is found to follow the same pseudorapidity and transverse momentum dependence as for
hyperon [13], and corresponding corrections are estimated to be less than 20%. Similar to hyperon

(0)

in Eq. 2 will be proportional to PH and contains

the additive admixture of higher harmonic terms,
(2)
namely PH (compare with Eq. 4 in [13]):

0.4
0.3

STAR Preliminary

0.2

hsin p RP i =
(6)
Z

dp dH
H
A pH , pp sin p
=
2
4 2
"
#
(2)


PH
(0)

PH
cos 2(H p ) .
2

0.1
-0
-0.1
-0.2
-0.3
-0.4
0

For the perfect acceptance this leads to observable

in Eq. 2, where under PH (P ) one have to under(0)
(0)
stand PH . According to Eq. 5, PH is the average
Figure 2: (Color online) Global polarization
of global polarization over relative azimuthal angle
hyperons as a function of
transverse
of
between hyperons direction and the systems ormomentum. Black circles show the results for

bital momentum L.
Au+Au collisions at sNN =200 GeV (cenDue to the non-uniform detector acceptance,
trality region 20-70%) and red squares inEq. 6 contains two different contributions. First
dicate the results for Au+Au collisions at

one is defined by acceptance correction function

sNN =62 GeV (centrality region 0-80%).
H
A0 (pH
t , ) in Eq. 3. Deviation of this function
Only statistical errors are shown.
from unity (perfect detector) affects the overall
scale of the measured global polarization. The con
results [13], the admixture from directed flow to tribution from the second term is proportional to
(2)
the global polarization measurement is found to be PH and defined by the function:
negligible.
Z


dp dH
2
H
H
A2 (pt , ) =
Another type of correction is from possible deA pH , pp (7)

4 2


pendence of the hyperon global polarization on the
sin p cos 2(H p ) .
relative azimuthal angle between the direction of
hyperons 3-momentum and the system orbital mo- For perfect acceptance this function is zero. Taking
mentum L. For the perfect detector the observable into account that the background contribution to
in Eq. 2 gives an average of the global polariza- the and
invariant mass distribution is less than
tion over this relative azimuthal angle. This can 8%, the value of function A2 (pH , H ) can be ext
be shown by expanding the global polarization as a tracted directly from the experimental data by cal



function of (H RP ) in a sum (due to the symme- culating sin cos 2(H ) for and
canp
p
try of the system only even harmonics contribute): didates. The result of such calculations is presented


H
=
(4) in Figure 3. Assuming that different terms in exPH H RP , pH
t ,
pansion (4) are of the same order of magnitude,

X


(n)
H
=
PH pH
cos{2n[

]}.
,

the corresponding corrections from the admixture

H
RP
t


(2)
H
n=0
hyperon global
of PH pH
to the and s
t ,
Global polarization averaged over all possible values polarization measurement are found to be less than
of (H RP ) will be given by:
20%.




Feed-down effects, spin precession, uncertainty of
H
H (5)
PH pH
PH H RP , pH
t ,
t ,


reaction
plane angle reconstruction procedure for
(0)
H
= PH pH
.
t ,
the hyperon global polarization measurement has
For the case of an imperfect detector, the observable been discussed in [13]. Based on the similar study,
0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.5

pt (GeV/c)

tematic uncertainty due to detector acceptance in

global polarization measurements is
the and
found to be less than 20%.
Combining results of this measurement and those
from [6], an upper limit of |P, | 0.02 for the
hyperons within
global polarization of and
STARs acceptance is obtained. The obtained upper limit is far below the few tens of percent values
discussed in [1], but it falls within the predicted region from the more realistic calculations [4] based
on the HTL (Hard Thermal Loop) model.

0.05

A2,

-0

-0.05

-0.1

-0.15
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.5

pt,

References

0.05

[1] Liang Z T and Wang X N 2005 Phys. Rev. Lett.94,

102301; Erratum: ibid. 2006 96 039901

-0

A2,

[2] Voloshin S A arXiv:nucl-th/0410089

-0.05

[3] Liang Z T and Wang X N 2005 Phys. Lett.B629

20

-0.1

[4] Gao Jian-hua and Z. T. Liang (in preparation; talk

at International Workshop on Hadron Physics
and Property of High Baryon Density Matter on
November 24, 2006, Xian, China)

-0.15
-1

-0.5

0.5

Figure 3:

(Color online) Integral (7) as

(red
a function of (black circles) and

[5] Selyuzhenkov I [STAR Collaboration] 2006 Rom.

Rep. Phys. 58 049

squares) transverse momentum (top) and

[6] Selyuzhenkov I [STAR Collaboration] 2006 J.

Phys. G32 S557

pseudorapidity (bottom).

[7] Chen J H [STAR Collaboration] 2006 (in preparation; talk at QM2006 on November 13, 2006,
Shanghai, China)

global pothe overall relative uncertainty in the

larization measurement due to detector effects is
found to be less than a factor of 2.

[8] Eidelman S et al.[Particle Data Group] 2004 Phys.

Lett.B592 1
[9] Anderson M et al.2003 Nucl. Instr. Meth.A499 659

Conclusion

[10] Voloshin S and Zhang Y 1996 Z. Phys. C70 665;

arXiv:hep-ph/9407282

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Conf. Proc. 870 712
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3-momentum is discussed. The corresponding sys4