Glasma flux tubes and the near side ridge phenomenon at RHIC

We investigate the consequences of long range rapidity correlations in the Glasma. Particles produced locally in the transverse plane are correlated by approximately boost invariant flux tubes of longitudinal color electric and magnetic fields that are formed when two sheets of Colored Glass Condensate pass through one another, each acquiring a modified color charge density in the collision. We argue that such long range rapidity correlations persist during the evolution of the Quark-Gluon Plasma formed later in the collision. When combined with transverse flow, these correlations reproduce many of the features of the recently observed ridge events in heavy ion collisions at RHIC. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.