J/psi production in gold+gold collisions at center of mass energy = 200 GeV

This thesis presents the first J/ψ production analysis of Au+Au reactions at forward rapidity at $sNN$ = 200 GeV. In the second year of RHIC running, design energy was achieved in the collisions of both Au+Au ions and proton+proton reactions. The production of the J/ψ is measured by the PHENIX experiment in Au+Au collisions as well as in proton-proton collisions. The scientific goal is to investigate the nature of hot, dense nuclear matter capitalizing on the unique properties of the J/ψ as a probe of this matter. Recent experimental results by the NA50 collaboration at CERN strongly deviate from the conventional picture that successfully describes data at lower energies. The importance of such a measurement is demonstrated by the wide spectrum of theoretical explanations concerning the existing data. The merits of these models will be explored in a systematic and comprehensive study of the J/ψ and open charm in collisions of a variety of species and energy. A survey of the theoretical models is presented and the relevant open charm and J/ψ PHENIX measurements are compared.