First Observation of the Directed Flow of D0 and D0 ̄ in Au+Au Collisions at sNN =200 GeV

Abstract

We report the first measurement of rapidity-odd directed flow (v1) for D0 and D0̄ mesons at midrapidity (|y|<0.8) in Au+Au collisions at sNN=200 GeV using the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. In 10-80% Au+Au collisions, the slope of the v1 rapidity dependence (dv1/dy), averaged over D0 and D0̄ mesons, is -0.080±0.017(stat)±0.016(syst) for transverse momentum pT above 1.5 GeV/c. The absolute value of D0 meson dv1/dy is about 25 times larger than that for charged kaons, with 3.4σ significance. These data give a unique insight into the initial tilt of the produced matter, and offer constraints on the geometric and transport parameters of the hot QCD medium created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.