Minijet deformation and charge-independent angular correlations on momentum subspace (η,ϕ) in Au-Au collisions at √sNN = 130 GeV

الأصل · EN

First measurements of charge-independent correlations on angular difference variables η₁ - η₂ (pseudorapidity) and ϕ₁ - ϕ₂ (azimuth) are presented for primary charged hadrons with transverse momentum 0.15 ≤ pₜ ≤ 2 GeV/c and |η| ≤ 1.3 from Au-Au collisions at √sNN = 130 GeV. Strong charge-independent angular correlations are observed associated with jet-like structures and elliptic flow. The width of the jet-like peak on η₁ - η₂ increases by a factor 2.3 from peripheral to central collisions, suggesting strong coupling of semi-hard scattered partons to a longitudinally-expanding medium. New methods of jet analysis introduced here provide evidence for nonperturbative QCD medium effects in heavy ion collisions.