Transverse momentum dependent forward neutron single spin asymmetries in transversely polarized p plus p collisions at root s=200 GeV

Abstract

In 2015, the PHENIX collaboration has measured very forward (eta > 6.8) single spin asymmetries of inclusive neutrons in transversely polarized proton-proton and proton-nucleus collisions at a center of mass energy of 200 GeV. A previous publication from this dataset concentrated on the nuclear dependence of such asymmetries. In this measurement the explicit transverse momentum dependence of inclusive neutron single spin asymmetries for proton-proton collisions is extracted using a bootstrapping unfolding technique on the transverse momenta. This explicit transverse momentum dependence will help improve the understanding of the mechanisms that create these asymmetries.