Abstract
We present first measurements of the -meson elliptic flow () and high-statistics distributions for different centralities from collisions at RHIC. In minimum bias collisions the of the meson is consistent with the trend observed for mesons. The ratio of the yields of the to those of the as a function of transverse momentum is consistent with a model based on the recombination of thermal quarks up to , but disagrees at higher momenta. The nuclear modification factor () of follows the trend observed in the mesons rather than in baryons, supporting baryon-meson scaling. These data are consistent with mesons in central collisions being created via coalescence of thermalized quarks and the formation of a hot and dense matter with partonic collectivity at RHIC.
- Received 20 March 2007
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.112301
©2007 American Physical Society