Transverse momentum dependence of eta meson suppression in Au+Au collisions at sq root(s{sub NN})=200 GeV

New measurements by the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider for eta production at midrapidity as a function of transverse momentum (p{sub T}) and collision centrality in sq root(s{sub NN})=200 GeV Au+Au and p+p collisions are presented. They indicate nuclear modification factors (R{sub AA}) which are similar in both magnitude and trend to those found in earlier pi{sup 0} measurements. Linear fits to R{sub AA} as a function of p{sub T} in 5-20 GeV/c show that the slope is consistent with zero within two standard deviations at all centralities, although a slow rise cannot be excluded. Having different statistical and systematic uncertainties, the pi{sup 0} and eta measurements are complementary at high p{sub T}; thus, along with the extended p{sub T} range of these data they can provide additional constraints for theoretical modeling and the extraction of transport properties.