Methods for a blind analysis of isobar data collected by the STAR collaboration

In 2018,the STAR collaboration collected data from^(96)_(44)Ru+^(96)_(44)Ru and^(96)_(40)Zr+^(96)_(40)Zr at√^(S)NN=200 Ge V to search for the presence of the chiral magnetic effect in collisions of nuclei.The isobar collision species alternated frequently between 9644 Ru+^(96)_(44)Ru and^(96)_(40)Zr+^(96)_(40)Zr.In order to conduct blind analyses of studies related to the chiral magnetic effect in these isobar data,STAR developed a three-step blind analysis procedure.Analysts are initially provided a"reference sample"of data,comprised of a mix of events from the two species,the order of which respects time-dependent changes in run conditions.After tuning analysis codes and performing time-dependent quality assurance on the reference sample,analysts are provided a species-blind sample suitable for calculating efficiencies and corrections for individual≈30-min data-taking runs.For this sample,species-specific information is disguised,but individual output files contain data from a single isobar species.Only run-by-run corrections and code alteration subsequent to these corrections are allowed at this stage.Following these modifications,the"frozen"code is passed over the fully un-blind data,completing the blind analysis.As a check of the feasibility of the blind analysis procedure,analysts completed a"mock data challenge,"analyzing data from Au+Au collisions at√^(S)NN=27 Ge V,collected in 2018.The Au+Au data were prepared in the same manner intended for the isobar blind data.The details of the blind analysis procedure and results from the mock data challenge are presented.

Measurement of away-side broadening with self-subtraction of flow in Au+Au collisions at √sNN=200 GeV

High transverse momentum(pT)particle production is suppressed owing to the parton(jet)energy loss in the hot dense medium created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.Redistribution of energy at low-to-modest pT has been difficult to measure,owing to large anisotropic backgrounds.We report a data-driven method for background evaluation and subtraction,exploiting the away-side pseudorapidity gaps,to measure the jetlike correlation shape in Au+Au collisions at √sNN=200 GeV in the STAR experiment.The correlation shapes,for trigger particles pT>3GeV/c and various associated particle pT ranges within 0.5<pT<10GeV/c,are consistent with Gaussians,and their widths increase with centrality.The results indicate jet broadening in the medium created in central heavy-ion collisions.

Artifact analysis of a far-field coded-aperture gamma camera extended to partially coded field-of-view

Purpose Coded-aperture gamma cameras play an important role for homeland security nowadays.They have limitedfield-of-view(FOV)which is a critical parameter for many applications.The FOV can be potentially increased by extending it to the penumbra area(partially coded FOV).Methods In this study,we analyzed this artifact phenomenon based on simulating a commercial coded-aperture gamma camera.The camera uses a modified uniformly redundant array(MURA)mask with a basic pattern of rank 11.Its opening angle of the basic pattern to the detector center is 26.36◦which is the commonly used non-artifact FOV(NAFOV).In some applications,the radiation source is a far-field single-point source.Thus,we extend its FOV to 40◦by including a part of the partially coded area,which is a trade-off between the FOV and image quality.Analytical calculations and simulation studies were carried out.The system matrix was calculated using the Sidden’s algorithm.The maximum likelihood expectation maximization(MLEM)reconstruction method was employed.Projections and reconstruction results of the point source at different positions were compared.The second moment of inertia was used as thefigure of merit.Results Results show that projections have periodic similarity with a period of NAFOV,and reconstructions also have periodic artifacts,i.e.,fromθtoθ+NAFOV.Artifacts are the most serious at the edge of the NAFOV.The upper and lower artifacts are more serious than the left and right artifacts due to the difference between the horizontal centerline(tungsten)and vertical centerline(holes expect the center unit)of the mask.Conclusions For a point source with high activity,artifacts can be reduced by increasing the iteration number of the MLEM reconstruction.Even at the edge of NAFOV,the point source can be possibly reconstructed thanks to the large size of the position sensitive detector(PSD)used.The noise will significantly increase artifacts,which may lead to error locate the point source with low activity at some specific positions.