CME search at STAR (2110.15937v1)

Abstract: The hot and dense medium produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions has been conjectured to be accompanied by an axial charge asymmetry that may lead to a separation of electric charges in the direction of the extremely strong magnetic field, also known as the Chiral Magnetic Effect (CME). The measurement of azimuthal correlator ($\Delta\gamma$) with respect to the spectator plane, gives us an opportunity to measure the possible CME fraction beyond the flow background. Preliminary results using this approach with combined Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} =$ 200 GeV and U+U at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} =$ 193 GeV show $f_{CME}$ at $(8\pm4\pm8)$ $\%$. Meanwhile, the observability of CME has been conjectured to be dependent on $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ due to changes in the lifetime of the magnetic field, the strengths of CME signal and non-CME background. At lower energies, the Event Plane Detector (EPD) installed in the year 2018 provides a unique capability for CME search. The background scenario test at Au+Au $\sqrt{s_{NN}} =$ 27 GeV by using $\Delta\gamma$ with respect to TPC and the new installed EPD shows a consistency with no-CME scenario in the current statistics. The method of the ongoing isobar blind analysis, and the latest sensitivity check with the event-by-event AVFD model on the different observables between Ru+Ru and Zr+Zr are also briefly discussed.