Search for Muonic Atoms and Dimuon Production in Heavy-Ion Collisions

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dc.contributor.advisorGeurts, Frank
dc.contributor.committeeMemberPadley, Paul
dc.contributor.committeeMemberScott, David
dc.creatorXin, Kefeng
dc.date.accessioned2016-02-05T22:02:06Z
dc.date.available2016-02-05T22:02:06Z
dc.date.created2015-12
dc.date.issued2015-12-03
dc.date.submittedDecember 2015
dc.date.updated2016-02-05T22:02:06Z
dc.description.abstractLeptons, e.g. muons, are ideal tools to explore the hot and dense matter created at heavy-ion collider experiments, because they have minimal final state interactions and as a result are able to preserve information of the hot medium. This thesis focuses on two leptonic physics results of the STAR experiment at Brookhaven National Lab – dimuons and muonic atom production. The first measurement of dimuon production at low invariant mass is presented, using data collected from Au + Au collisions at psNN = 200 GeV. An excess of the dimuon yield over known hadronic contributions in the mass region 0.2 - 0.55 GeV/c2 is found. This excess might be sensitive to modified ⇢ meson spectrum function in hot medium, which has been proposed to be related to chiral symmetry restoration. This thesis also presents the first search results of muonic atoms in heavy-ion collisions. Femtoscopic correlations indicate hadrons and muons are produced at the same space-time point, providing a signature of atom ionization at the detector beam pipe. Invariant mass signals are observed for Kμ and pμ atoms and their antimatter counterparts. The measured yields and a calculation from a coalescence model are found not in agreement, suggesting significant other sources in the calculation may be needed.
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationXin, Kefeng. "Search for Muonic Atoms and Dimuon Production in Heavy-Ion Collisions." (2015) Diss., Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/88425">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/88425</a>.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/88425
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.
dc.subjectHeavy-Ion
dc.subjectMuonic Atoms
dc.subjectDimuon Production
dc.titleSearch for Muonic Atoms and Dimuon Production in Heavy-Ion Collisions
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.materialText
thesis.degree.departmentPhysics and Astronomy
thesis.degree.disciplineNatural Sciences
thesis.degree.grantorRice University
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.majorNuclear and Particle Physics
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy
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