Suppression of Back-to-Back Hadron Pairs at Forward Rapidity in d plus Au Collisions at root S-NN=200 GeV

Abstract

Back-to-back hadron pair yields in d + Au and p + p collisions at root S-NN = 200 GeV were measured with the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Rapidity separated hadron pairs were detected with the trigger hadron at pseudorapidity vertical bar eta vertical bar < 0: 35 and the associated hadron at forward rapidity (deuteron direction, 3.0< eta < 3.8). Pairs were also detected with both hadrons measured at forward rapidity; in this case, the yield of back-to-back hadron pairs in d + Au collisions with small impact parameters is observed to be suppressed by a factor of 10 relative to p + p collisions. The kinematics of these pairs is expected to probe partons in the Au nucleus with a low fraction x of the nucleon momenta, where the gluon densities rise sharply. The observed suppression as a function of nuclear thickness, p(T), and eta points to cold nuclear matter effects arising at high parton densities.