Omega- and Omega+ production in central Pb + Pb collisions at 40 and 158A GeV

Results are presented on Omega production in central Pb+Pb collisions at 40 and 158A GeV beam energy. For the first time in heavy ion reactions, rapidity distributions and total yields were measured for the sum Omega(-) + Omega(+) at 40A GeV and for Omega(-) and Omega(+) separately at 158A GeV. The yields are strongly underpredicted by the string-hadronic UrQMD model but agree better with predictions from hadron gas models.     

Central collisions with a projectile of 1.8 GeV/nucleon 40Ar

Single particle inclusive spectra and the associated multiplicity were obtained with a magnetic spectrometer and an azimuthal array of 30 ?erenkov counters from collisions of 1.8 GeV/nucleon ⁴⁰Ar on Be and Cu targets. No change is seen in the shape of the spectra obtained by the spectrometer for various multiplicity requirements.     

Low-mass lepton pair production in Pb-Au collisions at 40 A.GeV

The CERES/NA45 experiment at the CERN SPS has previously measurede ⁺ e ^- pair production in 160 A.GeV Pb-Au collisions. In the mass regionm > 02 GeV/c², an enhancement of 2.7±04(stat.)±0.5(syst.) compared to the expectation from known hadronic decay sources was observed. In the 40 A.GeV data taken in 1999, an enhancement is again found; a preliminary analysis gives an even larger value of 50 ±13(stat.). The results are compared to theoretical model calculations based on π⁺π^- annihilation with a modified ρ-propagator; they may be related to chiral symmetry restoration.     

J/psi production in sqrt s_NN=200 GeV Cu+Cu collisions

Yields for J/psi production in Cu+Cu collisions at sqrt s_NN=200 GeV have been measured over the rapidity range |y|<2.2 and compared with results in p+p and Au+Au collisions at the same energy. The Cu+Cu data offer greatly improved precision over existing Au+Au data for J/psi production in collisions with small to intermediate numbers of participants, in the range where the quark-gluon plasma transition threshold is predicted to lie. Cold nuclear matter estimates based on ad hoc fits to d+Au data describe the Cu+Cu data up to N_part approximately 50, corresponding to a Bjorken energy density of at least 1.5 GeV/fm(3).     

Centrality dependence of pT spectra for identified hadrons in Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at √SNN=200 GeV

The centrality dependence of transverse momentum spectra for identified hadrons at midrapidity in Au+Au collisions at √SNN=200GeV is systematically studied in a quark combination model.The pT spectra of π±,K±,P(p-)and A(A)in different centrality bins and the nuclear modification factors(Rcp)for these hadrons are calculated.The centrality dependence of the average collective transverse velocity(β(r)) for the hot and dense quark matter is obtained in Au+An collisions,and it is applied to a relative smaller Cu+Cu collision system.The centrality dependence of pT spectra and the Rcp for π0,K0/s and A in Cu+Cu collisions at √SNN=200 GeV are well described.The results show that(β(r))is only a function of the number of participants Npart and it is independent of the collision system.     

Peculiarities of isotopic temperatures obtained from p + A collisions at 1 GeV

Nuclear temperatures were extracted from fragment yields obtained in inclusive measurements of p+A collisions at 1 GeV. All thermometers based on double-isotopic yield-ratios provide temperatures T ≃ 4 MeV nearly independent on the target mass.     

Evidence for quasi-fission in40Ar+208Pb collisions near the coulomb-barrier

Fission-fragment angular distributions were measured in the reaction of⁴⁰Ar with²⁰⁸Pb near the fusion barrier. For nearly symmetric mass-/charge splits we find angular distributions symmetric around θ=90 degrees, however, with unusually large anisotropies. These develop gradually into forward-backward asymmetric distributions as one moves away from mass-/charge symmetry. This indicates that non-compound fission (‘quasi-fission’) competes with true fusion-fission. The relative contribution of quasi-fission to the total fission cross section is somewhere between 51 and 85%. In the framework of the extra-push model this is equivalent to an extra-extra push energy for compound-nucleus formation inside the true fission saddle point of 4<E _xx <9 MeV in agreement with a recent empirical parametrization of fusion-barrier shifts based on fusion-fission cross sections. On the basis of cross sections for fusion-evaporation residues it had previously been concluded that fusion of⁴⁰Ar with Pb isotopes occurs unhindered. Possible reasons for this apparent discrepancy are discussed.     

Low mass dileptons from Pb + Au collisions at 158 A.GeV

The medium modification of vector meson properties in hot/dense hadronic matter and its role in explaining the CERES/NA45 dilepton data at different centralities are discussed.     

Dile pton production in p+ p,Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 200$ GeV

We study dilepton production in proton–proton, Cu+Cu as well as in Au+Au collisions at the center-of-mass energy \(\sqrt{s} =200\) GeV per participating nucleon pair within an extended statistical hadronization model. In extension to earlier studies we incorporate transport calculations for an estimate of uncorrelated e ⁺ e ^? -pairs from semileptonic D meson decays. While the invariant mass spectrum of dielectrons is well understood in the p+p collisions, severe discrepancies among different model scenarios based on hadronic degrees of freedom and recent data from the PHENIX Collaboration are found in heavy-ion collisions in the low-mass region from 0.15 to 0.6 GeV as well as in the intermediate mass regime from 1.1 to 3 GeV when employing the standard dilepton sources. We investigate, furthermore, the background from correlated dileptons that are not emitted as a pair from a parent hadron but emerge from semileptonic decays of two correlated daughter hadrons. Our calculations suggest a sizeable contribution of such sources in central heavy-ion collisions in the low-mass region. However, even the upper limits of our calculations are found to be far below the dilepton mass spectra of the PHENIX Collaboration.     

Strangeness in Pb---Pb collisions at 158 A GeV

We study relative strange particle abundances measured in Pb---Pb 158 A GeV interactions. The thermal and chemical source parameters of these particles are determined under reaction scenario hypothesis invoking confined and deconfined hadronic matter.     

The study of the negative pion production in neutron-proton collisions at beam momenta below 1.8 GeV/c

A detailed investigation of the reaction np ? rightarrow pp p^- pi^{{-}}_{} has been carried out using the data obtained with the continuous neutron beam produced by charge exchange scattering of protons off the deuterium target. Partial-wave event-by-event analysis based on the maximum likelihood method was applied to determine contributions of different partial waves to the pion production process. A combined analysis of the np ? rightarrow pp p^- pi^{{-}}_{} and pp ? rightarrow pp p⁰ pi^{{0}}_{} data measured in the same energy region allows us to determine the contribution of isoscalar partial waves (I = 0 in the momentum range from 1.1 up to 1.8GeV/c . The decay of isoscalar partial waves into the (¹ S ₀)_pp p pi channel provides us with a good tool for the determination of the pp S -wave scalar scattering length in the final state which was found to be a _pp = - 7.5±0.3 fm.     

Lambda and lambda production in central Pb-Pb collisions at 40, 80, and 158A GeV

Production of Lambda and Antilambda hyperons was measured in central Pb-Pb collisions at 40, 80, and 158A GeV beam energy on a fixed target. Transverse mass spectra and rapidity distributions are given for all three energies. The Lambda/pi ratio at midrapidity and in full phase space shows a pronounced maximum between the highest BNL Alternating Gradient Synchrotron and 40A GeV CERN Super Proton Synchrotron energies, whereas the Lambda/pi ratio exhibits a monotonic increase.     

Intermittency and fractals in nuclear collisions at 1.52 A GeV

The techniques of scaled factorial moments and multifractals have been employed to study the dynamical fluctuations of the produced singly charged particles in collisions of⁸⁴Kr ions at 1.52 A GeV in nuclear emulsion. The power law behaviors are observed in the data. The generalized dimensions are determined by using the methods of intermittency and multifractals.