Measurements of dihadron correlations relative to the event plane in Au+Au collisions at√^(S)NN=200 GeV

Dihadron azimuthal correlations containing a high transverse momentum(pr)trigger particle are sensit-ive to the properties of the nuclear medium created at RHIC through the strong interactions occurring between the traversing parton and the medium,ie.jet-quenching.Previous measurements revealed a strong modification to di-hadron azimuthal correlations in Au+Au collisions with respect to ptp and d+Au collisions.The modification in-creases with the collision centrality,suggesting a path-length or energy density dependence to the je-quenching ef-fect.This paper reports STAR measurements of dihadron azimuthal correlations in mid-central(20%-60%)Au+Au collisions at√^(S)NN=200 GeV as a function of the trigger particle's azimuthal angle relative to the event plane,Ф_(s)=|Ф_(t)-ψ_(Ep)|.The azimuthal correlation is studied as a function of both the trigger and associated particle pr.The subtractions of the combinatorial background and anisotropic flow,assuming Zero Yield At Minimum(ZYAM),are described.The correlation results are first discussed with subtraction of the even harmonic(elliptic and quadrangu-lar)flow backgrounds.The away-side correlation is strongly modifed,and the modification varies withФ_(s),with a double-peak structure for out-of-plane trigger particles.The near-side ridge(long range pseudo-rapidity△_(η)correla-tion)appears to drop with increasingФ_(s)while the jet-like component remains approximately constant.The correla-tion functions are further studied with the subtraction of odd harmonic triangular flow background arising from fluc-tuations.It is found that the triangular flow,while responsible for the majority of the amplitudes,is not sufficient to explain theφs-dependence of the ridge or the away-side double-peak structure.The dropping ridge withФ_(s)could be attributed to aФ_(s)-dependent lliptie anisotropy;however,the physics mechanism of the ridge remains an open ques-tion.Even with aФ_(s)-dependent elliptic flow,the away-side correlation structure is robust.These results,with extens-ive systematic studies of the dihadron correlations as a function ofФ_(s),trigger and associated particle pT,and the pseudo-rapidity range△_(η),should provide stringent inputs to help understand the underlying physics mechanisms of jet-medium interactions in high energy nuclear collisions.