engleski

Observation of D0 Meson Nuclear Modifications in Au+Au Collisions at √sNN = 200 GeV

We report the first measurement of charmed-hadron (D0) production via the hadronic decay channel (D0→K−+π+) in Au+Au collisions at sNN‾‾‾‾√=200  GeV with the STAR experiment. The charm production cross section per nucleon-nucleon collision at midrapidity scales with the number of binary collisions, Nbin, from p+p to central Au+Au collisions. The D0 meson yields in central Au+Au collisions are strongly suppressed compared to those in p+p scaled by Nbin, for transverse momenta pT>3  GeV/c, demonstrating significant energy loss of charm quarks in the hot and dense medium. An enhancement at intermediate pT is also observed. Model calculations including strong charm-medium interactions and coalescence hadronization describe our measurements.

meson; modification; STAR

STAR Collaboration.