Transverse Single Spin Asymmetries in J/$\psi$ Production in Proton-Proton Collisions

The PHENIX collaboration previously reported the first measurements of transverse single spin asymmetries in J/$\psi$ production in proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energies of 200 GeV at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider [Phys. Rev. D 86, 099904(E), 2012]. The measurement was in part performed in the rapidity range of $1.2<|\eta|<2.2$ for transverse momenta up to 6 GeV/$c$. J/$\psi$ production at such energies is dominated by processes involving gluons inside the proton, and the observed transverse single spin asymmetries of the J/$\psi$ can therefore provide access to the dynamics of the intial-state gluons. We will present the latest and complementary results from the recent 2012 data set and discuss their possible implications for the underlying physics processes.