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Overview of Gluon Helicity Measurements at STAR

High Energy Physics - Experiment 2019-08-07 v1 High Energy Physics - Phenomenology

Abstract

The contribution to the spin of the proton from the gluon helicity is starting to come into focus: for gluons carrying a large fraction xx of the proton momentum, evidence of positive gluon polarization has been observed, via measurements of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry ALLA_{LL} for inclusive jet and dijet production. ALLA_{LL} is sensitive to the polarized gluon distribution function, Δg(x)\Delta g(x), and while it is positive at high xx, it is not well constrained for x<0.05x<0.05. Recent measurements at STAR of observables originating dominantly from quark-gluon and gluon-gluon subprocesses aim to improve the precision of Δg(x)\Delta g(x) at high xx, as well as for the first time provide insight into the low-xx contribution. ALLA_{LL} measurements of inclusive jets and dijets at midrapidity (η<1)(|\eta|<1) and intermediate rapidity (0.8<η<2)(0.8<\eta<2) at STAR at s=200\sqrt{s}=200 and 510510 GeV will be shown, along with the statuses of ongoing analyses; these measurements will help improve the Δg(x)\Delta g(x) precision for x0.01x\gtrsim 0.01. Recent π0\pi^0 ALLA_{LL} measurements in the forward region (2.65<η<3.9)(2.65<\eta<3.9) at s=510\sqrt{s}=510 GeV will also be presented, which probe Δg(x)\Delta g(x) down to x103x{\sim}10^{-3}. Comparisons of these results to recent global analyses and extrapolations will be discussed.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1908.01830,
  title  = {Overview of Gluon Helicity Measurements at STAR},
  author = {Christopher Dilks},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1908.01830},
  year   = {2019}
}