Strange baryons production and projectile fragmentation in p−A collisions at the AGS

Experiment 910 (E910) has studied proton-nucleus collisions at 12.3 and 17.5 GeV incident energies using a variety of targets. Centrality selection is provided via “grey” track multiplicity which can be statistically related to ν, the number of scatterings of the proton in the target nucleus. Previously published semi-inclusive measurements of Ν production are discussed and preliminary measurements of “leading” Ν production in 17.5 GeV p-Au collisions are presented as a function of ν. The data indicate that the probability for the projectile to fragment into a strange baryon increases significantly with increasing ν for ν≤3; an extrapolation of the E910 data to nucleus-nucleus collisions can reproduce most of the enhancement in Ν production observed in Pb-Pb collisions at 40, 80 and 160 A. GeV. Preliminary measurements of Ξ^? production in 17.5 GeV p-Au collisions show a rapid increase in yield with increasing ν. The data are discussed in the context of the Van Hove fragmentation model. Preliminary proton and pion spectra are presented for 12.3 GeV p-Be collisions. The data show a rapid degradation of outgoing proton momenta with increasing N _grey while only modest changes are observed in the pion fragmentation spectra.     

Charged pion production in 70 GeV/cK + p interactions

Inclusive charged pion production is studied in an exposure of BEBC, filled with hydrogen, to an incidentK ⁺ beam of 70 GeV/c. Total cross sections for pion production and inclusive longitudinal and transverse momentum distributions of π^?'s and of positive particles are presented and compared with data at lower energies. Earlier evidence for scaling in the fragmentation regions is confirmed. The central region π^? cross section increases proportionally top _LAB ^?1/4 ; positive particles show almost no energy dependence atx=0. Particle ratios π⁺/π^? are studied as a function ofx andy ^* and a comparison with 70 GeV/cK ^? p data is made. Analysis of structure functions for (ππ) pairs and of particle production associated with π^± triggers at large |x| in the context of quark/parton models, provides qualitative evidence for the diquark-quark structure of the proton.     

Is there a low-p T “anomaly” in the pion momentum spectra from relativistic nuclear collisions?

The influence of resonance production in relativistic hadron-hadron and nucleus-nucleus collisions, and their role in explaining the so-called “anomalous” behaviour of the hadronic transverse momentum spectra at lowp _T is studied qualitatively and quantitatively in the framework of a simple thermodynamical model. In the discussion effects from the different kinematics in 2- and 3-body decays and from the finite width of the resonances are included. We compare our results with data from the NA35 collaboration for pion, kaon, proton and Λp _T -spectra from 200 A GeV S+S collisions and withpp data at similar energies. The model can successfully describe both S+S andpp data withT=200 MeV, μ _b =250 MeV andT=180 MeV, μ _b =250 MeV, respectively. We discuss the consistency of these parameters by comparing with measured particle ratios and checking the freeze-out conditions. We conclude that the low-p _T part of the pion spectra is dominated by resonance decays, and that there is no low-p _T “anomaly”. We also find, that the flattening of the high-p _T tail in central nuclear collisions compared topp data is probably not of thermal origin but caused by other effects, e.g. collective transverse flow.     

Temperatures in heavy-ion collisions from pion multiplicities

A thermodynamically consistent treatment of the nuclear interaction is employed to study the dependence of pion production on the nuclear equation of state in heavy-ion collisions. Massive baryon resonances, heavy mesons and the Bose condensation of pions are incorporated into a macrocanonical relativistic quantum-statistical treatment of the highly excited system. The measured pion multiplicities, which vary over eight orders of magnitude in the bombarding energy range from 30 MeV/nucleon to 4 GeV/nucleon, are reproduced within a simple one-dimensional fluiddynamical model if it is assumed that nuclear matter is rather incompressible. The pion yields are in this model directly related to the compression energy, which amounts to one-half of the total center-of-mass energy at all BEVALAC energies. The maximum compression derived is uncertain by about 10% and 30% at E_lab = 0.4 and 1.8 GeV/nucleon, respectively. The temperatures of the system in the moment of the chemical freeze-out of the pion/delta degree of freedom are determined from the measured pion yields and range from 10 MeV to 100 MeV. An extrapolation to CERN/BNL energies, i.e. E_lab > 10 GeV/nucleon, yields T = 150–200 MeV. A strong energy dependence of the cross sections and the slopes of hard γ's is predicted by this model. The calculated photon yields are in surprising agreement with the data on γ- production at intermediate energies.     

Fragmentation cross sections of16O at 60 and 200 GeV/nucleon

We used CR39 plastic nuclear track detectors (C₁₂H₁₈O₇) in combination with automatic track measurement to determine total charge changing and partial cross sections for the production of fragments of chargeZ=6 andZ=7 in collisions of¹⁶O beam nuclei at energies of 60 GeV/nucleon and 200 GeV/nucleon in targets H, C, CR39, CH₂, Al, Cu, Ag and Pb. Total charge changing cross sections due to the process of electromagnetic dissociation are calculated based on a theoretical model and found to be consistent with total and partial electromagnetic dissociation cross sections derived from this experiment. The energy dependence of pure nuclear fragmentation is investigated.     

Backward yields of pions,protons, and deuterons in relativistic 28Si+Pb collisions at 14.6 A GeVc

The production of pions, protons and deuterons is studied at a laboratory angle of 144° in ²⁸Si+Pb collisions at 14.6 GeV/c per nucleon. The centrality dependence of the pion yields is studied over the full impact parameter range using a zero degree calorimeter. The results are compared with the hadronic cascade model RQMD. These calculations are generally in agreement with the experimental results. According to these calculations, the pion yield in our acceptance is completely dominated by Δ-decay at freeze-out. Our measurements thus support the importance of baryon resonance production as one of the central features of relativistic heavy ion collisions at AGS energies. Although the strength of the pion spectrum is adequately described for kinetic energies above 50 MeV, an additional very soft component is observed in the pion spectra which is not predicted by RQMD. This very soft component accounts for a significant fraction of the total pion yield in this rapidity range but remains unexplained.     

Kaon production in\bar pp interactions at c.m. energies from 200 to 900 GeV

A detailed analysis ofK _s ⁰ production in \(\bar pp\) |<2.5 the average transverse momentum is found to be 0.53±0.07 GeV/c at 200 GeV and 0.62±0.08 GeV/c at 900 GeV, which is an increase with respect to data at c.m. energies below 60 GeV. TheK _s ⁰ production cross sections in inelastic collisions are 29±4 mb at 200 GeV and 63±6 mb at 900 GeV, showing an increase compared to lower energy data. The central kaon density is found to increase as a logarithmic function of energy. At 900 GeV, where statistics are sufficient to allow one to draw conclusions, the average transverse momentum is higher in events with large charged multiplicity than in events with low multiplicity.     

A comparison of direct photon, π0 in pp and pp interactions at the CERN ISR

We have measured the production of direct photons, π⁰'s, and η's in p$\text{p}$ and pp collisions at √s=53 GeV in the range 2≈p_T≈6 GeV/c for the central rapidity region |y| 0.4. No statistically significant difference between pp? and pp interactions is observed.     

Excitation of theΔ (1232)-resonance in proton-nucleus collisions

The excitation of theΔ resonance is observed in proton collisions on C, Nb and Pb targets at 0.8 and 1.6 GeV incident energies. The mass E₀ and widthΓ of the resonance are determined from the invariant mass spectra of correlated (p, π^±)-pairs in the final state of the collision: The mass E₀ is smaller than that of the free resonance, however by comparing to intra-nuclear cascade calculations, this reduction is traced back to the effects of Fermi motion, NN scattering and pion reabsorption in nuclear matter.     

Time Evolution of the two-jet eventse +−e −→Hadrons in the Dynamical String Model

The time dependent pion emission rate and the mean life time of the pion source in the center of mass frame of the two-jet events have been determined fore ⁺?e ^?→hadrons at √s=20 – 50 GeV by the Dynamical String Model. It was established that the time needed for the creation of the pion source is 5 fm/c, whereas its life time is τ₀=7 – 13 fm/c for energies √s=20 – 50 GeV, respectively.     

Pion-production in heavy-ion collisions at SIS energies

We investigate the production of pions in heavyion collisions in the energy range of 1–2 GeV/A. The dynamics of the nucleus-nucleus collisions is described by a set of coupled transport equations of the Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck type for baryons and mesons. Besides theN(938) and theΔ(1232) we also take into account nucleon resonances up to masses of 1.95 GeV/c² as well asπ-,η- andρ-mesons. We study in detail the influence of the higher baryonic resonances and the 2π-production channels (NN→NNππ) on the pion spectra in comparison toπ ^? data fromAr+KCl collisions at 1.8 GeV/A andπ ⁰-data forAu+Au at 1.0GeV/A. We, furthermore, present a detailed comparison of differential pion angular distributions with the BEVALAC data forAr+KCl at 1.8 GeV/A. The general agreement obtained indicates that the overall reaction dynamics is well described by our novel transport approach.     

An analysis of prompt lepton emission at ISR energies

The e/π ratios at low p_T observed in pp collisions at √s = 53 GeV are analysed as a function of R, the ratio of the total number of electrons integrated over electron energies to the total number of pions integrated over pion energies. It is found that R is independent of the decay kinematics and very insensitive to the production dynamics of the parent particles. The total parent cross section times the branching ratio into an electron is calculated, and the result is interpreted as either the total inclusive cross section for production of charmed particles, or as the total cross section for single photons in pp collisions.     

Energy and system size dependence of charged hadron transverse momentum spectra from Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at √S NN =62.4 and 200 GeV

The PHOBOS Collaboration has measured transverse momentum distributions of charged hadrons produced in Cu+Cu collisions at √s _NN =200 and 62.4 GeV. The nuclear modification factor R _AA ^N _part is calculated relative to p+p data at both collision energies as a function of collision centrality. For the same number of participating nucleons, R _AA ^N _part is essentially the same in both systems over the full range of p Tthat is measured. In addition, we observe that within experimental uncertainties, the ratio of 200 GeV to 62.4 GeV Cu+Cu yields has only a moderate centrality dependence and is consistent with the value previously measured in Au+Au collisions for a broad range of p _T.     

STAR results on mixed hadron ratios

The STAR Experiment at RHIC is capable of a wide variety of measurements of the production of various hadrons in nuclear collisions. Measurements of the relative production of particle yields can shed light on the validity of models for hadron production in these collisions which may help characterize the source. We will present here preliminary results on these measurements at RHIC energies of √ ^s NN=130 GeV and 200 GeV and discuss comparisons to some models.     

Production of baryon resonances in collisions of 4He nuclei with carbon nuclei at a momentum of 4.2 GeV/c per nucleon

Under conditions of 4π geometry, Δ⁰-and Δ⁺⁺-resonance production in collisions of ⁴He nuclei with carbon nuclei at a momentum of 4.2 GeV/c per nucleon was investigated for the first time. The resonance masses and widths are estimated by analyzing the experimental and background invariant-mass distributions of (pπ ^±) pairs. Contributions to pion production from Δ-resonance decays, as well as from direct pion production, are determined. The results are compared with corresponding data obtained for CC collisions at the same primary momentum of 4.2 GeV/c per nucleon. By and large, the results obtained here comply with the existence of a collective mechanism of delta-isobar excitation in nuclei.     

Charged-particle multiplicity at mid-rapidity in Au-Au collisions at relativistic heavy-ion collider

The particle density at mid-rapidity is an essential global variable for the characterization of nuclear collisions at ultra-relativistic energies. It provides information about the initial conditions and energy density reached in these collisions. The pseudorapidity densities of charged particles at mid-rapidity in AuAu collisions at √^s _NN = 130 and 200 GeV at RHIC (relativistic heavy ion collider) have been measured with the PHENIX detector. The measurements were performed using sets of wire-chambers with pad readout in the two central PHENIX tracking arms. Each arm covers one quarter of the azimuth in the pseudorapidity interval |η| < 035. Data is presented and compared with results from proton-proton collisions and nucleus-nucleus collisions at lower energies. Extrapolations to LHC energies are discussed.     

Fragmentation cross sections of32S at 0.7, 1.2 and 200 GeV/nucleon

We used CR39 plastic nuclear track detectors (C₁₂H₁₈O₇) in combination with automatic track measurement techniques to determine total charge changing and partial cross sections for the production of fragments of chargeZ _F =6 toZ _F =15 in collisions of³²S beam nuclei at energies of 0.7, 1.2 and 200 GeV/nucleon in targets H, C, CR39, CH₂, Al, Cu, Ag and Pb. By application of factorization rules measured partial cross sections are separated into pure nuclear and electromagnetic components. Total and partial cross sections for electromagnetic dissociation are compared with theoretical models. The energy dependence of pure nuclear cross sections is investigated.     

Gluon shadowing and charmonium/bottonium production on nuclear targets

We examine the suppression ofJ/ω, ω′ and Ψ production on nuclear targets, as observed for proton and pion beams of energies from 200 to 800 GeV. We find that this suppression leads to a universal scaling curve, which indicates that it is due to nuclear modifications of the gluon density (“shadowing”). A parametrisation of the nuclear effect on the gluon density is extracted from the data and used to obtain quantitative estimates for corresponding effects in high-energy heavyion collisions.     

Kaon and pion ratio probes of jet quenching in nuclear collisions

Non-Abelian energy loss in quark gluon plasmas is shown to lead to novel hadron ratio suppression patterns in ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions. Here we investigate pion and kaon production in pp and AA collisions in a perturbative QCD frame, suppression pattern and hadron ratios. The K^?/K⁺ and K⁺/π⁺ ratios are found to be most sensitive to the opacity (density) of the plasma. Experimental data indicate that the fragmentation dominated pQCD region will be reached only at higher p _T; in an intermediate p _Tregion other particle production mechanisms dominate the K/π ratios.     

Pion chemical potentials in heavy-ion collisions: relativistic quantum molecular dynamic analysis

In the framework of relativistic quantum molecular dynamics we analyse pion chemical potentials in the hadron system produced in central heavy-ion collisions at the bombarding energiesE _lab/A=(1–2) GeV/nucl. We find that the equilibrium relations hold for chemical potentials of π^?, of π⁰, of π⁺ and pion energy spectra reach local thermal equilibrium. However, there is no chemical equilibrium. The pion chemical potentials are very large and decrease during the expansion stage.