Cold-nuclear-matter effects on heavy-quark production in d+Au collisions at √s_NN=200 GeV

The PHENIX experiment has measured electrons and positrons at midrapidity from the decays of hadrons containing charm and bottom quarks produced in d+Au and p+p collisions at √s_NN=200GeV in the transverse-momentum range 0.85≤pTe≤8.5GeV/c. In central d+Au collisions, the nuclear modification factor R_dA at 1.5<p_T<5GeV/c displays evidence of enhancement of these electrons, relative to those produced in p+p collisions, and shows that the mass-dependent Cronin enhancement observed at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider extends to the heavy D meson family. A comparison with the neutral-pion data suggests that the difference in cold-nuclear-matter effects on light- and heavy-flavor mesons could contribute to the observed differences between the π0 and heavy-flavor-electron nuclear modification factors R_AA.