Particles Associated with Omega Produced at Intermediate p_T

Abstract

The dual observation of the Omega production in central Au+Au collisions having both an exponential p_T distribution and also associated particles above the background has been referred to as the Omega puzzle. We give a quantitative description of how that puzzle can be understood in terms of phantom jets, where only ridges without peaks are produced to give rise to both the Omega trigger and its associated particles. In the framework of recombination of thermal partons we are able to reproduce both the Δϕdistribution and the trigger-momentum dependence of the yield of the associated particles. We make predictions on other observables that can be checked by further analyses of the data.

16 pages + 2 figures