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Using the NA49 main TPC, the central production of hyperons has been measured in CERN SPS Pb - Pb collisions at 158 GeV c-1. The preliminary ratio, studied at 2.0 < y < 2.6 and 1 < pT < 3 GeV c-1, equals ~ (13 ± 4)% (systematic error only). It is compatible, within errors, with the previously obtained ratios for central S + S [1], S + W [2], and S + Au [3] collisions. The fit to the transverse momentum distribution resulted in an inverse slope parameter T of 297 MeV. At this level of statistics we do not see any noticeable enhancement of hyperon production with the increased volume (and, possibly, degree of equilibration) of the system from S + S to Pb + Pb. This result is unexpected and counterintuitive, and should be further investigated. If confirmed, it will have a significant impact on our understanding of mechanisms leading to the enhanced strangeness production in heavy-ion collisions.
Preliminary inclusive spectra for K+, K-, Ks0, Λ, and are presented which were measured in central Pb + Pb collisions at 158 GeV per nucleon by the NA49 experiment. A comparison with data from lighter collision systems shows a strong change of the shape of the Λ rapidity distribution. The strangeness enhancement observed in S + S compared to p + p and p + A is not further increased in Pb + Pb.
Preliminary data on phi production in central Pb + Pb collisions at 158 GeV per nucleon are presented, measured by the NA49 experiment in the hadronic decay channel phi - K+K-. At mid-rapidity, the kaons were separated from pions and protons by combining dE/dx and time-of-flight information; in the forward rapidity range only dE/dx identification was used to obtain the rapidity distribution and a rapidity-integrated mt-spectrum. The mid-rapidity yield obtained was dN/dy = 1.85 ± 0.3 per event; the total phi multiplicity was estimated to be 5.0 ± 0.7 per event. Comparison with published pp data shows a slight, but not very significant strangeness enhancement.
Lambda and Antilambda reconstruction in central Pb+Pb collisions using a time projection chamber
(1997)
The large acceptance time projection chambers of the NA49 experiment are used to record the trajectory of charged particles from Pb + Pb collisions at 158 GeV per nucleon. Neutral strange hadrons have been reconstructed from their charged decay products. To obtain distributions of Λ, and Ks0 in discrete bins of rapidity, y, and transverse momentum, pT, calculations have been performed to determine the acceptance of the detector and the efficiency of the reconstruction software as a function of both variables. The lifetime distributions obtained give values of cτ = 7.8 ± 0.6 cm for Λ and cτ = 2.5 ± 0.3 cm for Ks0, consistent with data book values.
The transverse mass mt distributions for deuterons and protons are measured in Pb+Pb reactions near midrapidity and in the range 0<mt–m<1.0 (1.5) GeV/c2 for minimum bias collisions at 158A GeV and for central collisions at 40 and 80 A GeV beam energies. The rapidity density dn/dy, inverse slope parameter T and mean transverse mass <mt> derived from mt distributions as well as the coalescence parameter B2 are studied as a function of the incident energy and the collision centrality. The deuteron mt spectra are significantly harder than those of protons, especially in central collisions. The coalescence factor B2 shows three systematic trends. First, it decreases strongly with increasing centrality reflecting an enlargement of the deuteron coalescence volume in central Pb+Pb collisions. Second, it increases with mt. Finally, B2 shows an increase with decreasing incident beam energy even within the SPS energy range. The results are discussed and compared to the predictions of models that include the collective expansion of the source created in Pb+Pb collisions.
The negative-pion multiplicity is measured for central collisions of 40Ar with KCl at eight energies from 0.36 to 1.8 GeV/nucleon and for 4He on KCl and 40Ar on BaI2 at 977 and 772 MeV/nucleon, respectively. A systematic discrepancy with a cascade-model calculation which fits proton- and pion-nucleus cross sections but omits potential-energy effects is used to derive the energy going into bulk compression of the system. A value of the incompressibility constant of K=240 MeV is extracted in a parabolic form of the nuclear-matter equation of state.
The parities of eleven J=1 levels in 208Pb were determined by nuclear resonance fluorescence scattering of linearly polarized photons. A new 1+ level at Ex=5.846 MeV with Gamma 02 / Gamma =1.2±0.4 eV was found. This level can probably be identified with the theoretically predicted isoscalar 1+ state in 208Pb. All other bound dipole states below 7 MeV with Gamma 02 / Gamma >1.5 eV have negative parity. The 1- assignment to the 4.842-MeV level is of special significance because of previous conflicting results about its parity.
The 16O ( gamma ,p0) reaction has been studied with linearly polarized bremsstrahlung photons in and below the giant E1 resonance. The parity of the absorbed radiation was determined from the observed azimuthal asymmetry of the emitted protons. Combined with unpolarized measurements the polarized results determine the proton decay amplitudes of the M1 resonance at Ex=16.2 MeV in 16O. The shape of the unpolarized 16O ( gamma ,p3) angular distribution in the giant E1 resonance was derived from the measured analyzing power. NUCLEAR REACTIONS 16O( gamma ,p), E=15-25 MeV; measured analyzing power theta =90° linearly polarized bremsstrahlung; 16O dipole levels deduced pi ; 16.2 MeV 1+ resonance deduced p0 decay amplitudes; 16O GEDR deduced p3 angular distribution.
The ultrarelativistic quantum molecular dynamics model (UrQMD) is used to study global observables in central reactions of Au+Au at sqrt[s]=200A GeV at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Strong stopping governed by massive particle production is predicted if secondary interactions are taken into account. The underlying string dynamics and the early hadronic decoupling implies only small transverse expansion rates. However, rescattering with mesons is found to act as a source of pressure leading to additional flow of baryons and kaons, while cooling down pions.
11 262 keV 1+ state in 20Ne
(1983)
The excitation energy of the lowest 1+, T=1 state in 20Ne, which is important for parity nonconservation studies, has been determined in a photon scattering experiment to be 11 262.3 ± 1.9 keV. Values for the gamma -ray branching of this level to the ground state and to the first 2+ level in 20Ne are 84 ± 5% and 16 ± 5%, respectively. NUCLEAR REACTIONS 20Ne( gamma , gamma ), E gamma <18 MeV, bremsstrahlung; measured E gamma , gamma branching. Ne natural targets.
Proton emission in relativistic nuclear collisions is examined for events of low and high multiplicity, corresponding to large and small impact parameters. Peripheral reactions exhibit distributions of protons in agreement with spectator-participant decay modes. Central collisions of equal-size nuclei are dominated by the formation and decay of a fireball system. Central collisions of light projectiles with heavy targets exhibit an enhancement in sideward emission which is predicted by recent hydrodynamical calculations.
Angular distributions for elastic and inelastic transitions in 20Ne + 16O scattering have been measured at E(20Ne)=50 MeV. For the 0+, 2+, and 4+ members of the 20Ne ground-state rotational band, the angular distributions exhibit pronounced backward peaking characteristic of an alpha -cluster exchange mechanism. The analysis of the ground-state transition in the first-order elastic transfer model yields no satisfactory fit although microscopic cluster form factors and full recoil corrections are employed. A coupled channels calculation for the 0+, 2+, and 4+ transitions reveals very strong coupling effects, indicating that the coherent superposition of first-order optical model and distorted-wave Born-approximation amplitudes may not be an adequate model for these reactions. NUCLEAR REACTIONS 16O(20Ne, 16O) and 16O(20Ne, 20Ne), elastic and inelastic transfer; E=50MeV; measured sigma (Ef , theta ); optical model + DWBA, and CCBA analyses.
The elastic alpha scattering to backward angles has been studied for 40,42,44,48Ca between 40.7 and 72.3 MeV. The cross sections for 40Ca are larger than those for the higher isotopes up to the highest energies. They show backward increases that disappear above 50 MeV. The enhancement factor for 40Ca over 42,44Ca varies smoothly with energy. 48Ca does also show a backward cross-section enhancement over 42,44Ca. alpha -cluster rotational bands in the 44Ti compound state, four-nucleon correlations in 40Ca, and the l-dependent optical model are discussed as approaches to understand the anomaly. The rotator model appears to agree qualitatively with the experimental data. It involves rotational bands extending at least up to J=16 in 44Ti.
Back-angle enhancements of elastic alpha -scattering cross sections have been observed for nuclei at the ends of the 1p, 2s-1d, and f7 / 2 shells. Strong reduction of this enhancement occurs if excess neutrons enter the next open major shell. The results are discussed in terms of intermediate alpha structure.
Pion-production cross sections have been measured for the reaction 40Ar+40Ca--> pi ++X at a laboratory energy of 1.05 GeV/nucleon. A maximum in the pi + cross section occurs at mid-rapidity, which is anomalous relative to p+p and p+nucleus reactions and compared to many other heavy-ion reactions. Calculations based on cascade and thermal models fail to fit the data.
Inclusive energy spectra of protons, deuterons, and tritons were measured with a telescope of silicon and germanium detectors with a detection range for proton energies up to 200 MeV. Fifteen sets of data were taken using projectiles ranging from protons to 40Ar on targets from 27Al to 238U at bombarding energies from 240 MeV/nucleon to 2.1 GeV/nucleon. Particular attention was paid to the absolute normalization of the cross sections. For three previously reported reactions, He fragment cross sections have been corrected and are presented. To facilitate a comparison with theory the sum of nucleonic charges emitted as protons plus composite particles was estimated and is presented as a function of fragment energy per nucleon in the interval from 15 to 200 MeV/nucleon. For low-energy fragments at forward angles the protons account for only 25% of the nucleonic charges. The equal mass 40Ar plus Ca systems were examined in the center of mass. Here at 0.4 GeV/nucleon 40Ar plus Ca the proton spectra appear to be nearly isotropic in the center of mass over the region measured. Comparisons of some data with firestreak, cascade, and fluid dynamics models indicate a failure of the first and a fair agreement with the latter two. In addition, associated fast charged particle multiplicities (where the particles had energies larger than 25 MeV/nucleon) and azimuthal correlations were measured with an 80 counter array of plastic scintillators. It was found that the associated multiplicities were a smooth function of the total kinetic energy of the projectile. NUCLEAR REACTIONS U(20Ne,X), E / A=240 MeV/nucleon; U(40Ar,X), Ca(40Ar,X), U(20Ne,X), Au(20Ne,X), Ag(20Ne,X), Al(20Ne,X), U(4He,X), Al(4He,X), E / A=390 MeV/nucleon; U(40Ar,X), Ca(40Ar,X), U(20Ne,X), U(4He,X), U(p,X), E / A=1.04 GeV/nucleon; U(20Ne,X), E / A=2.1 GeV/nucleon; measured sigma (E, theta ), X=p,d,t.
Exclusive pi - and charged-particle production in collisions of Ar+KCl is studied at incident energies from 0.4 to 1.8 GeV/u. Complete disintegration of both nuclei is observed. The correlation between pi - and total charge multiplicity shows no islands of anomalous pion production. For constant numbers of proton participants the pi - multiplicity distributions are Poissons. For central collisions <n pi -> increases smoothly and to first order linearly with the c.m. energy. Disagreement with the firestreak model is found. Pacs numbers: 25.70.Hi, 24.10.Dp
Lambda 's produced in central collisions of 40Ar+KC1 at 1.8-GeV/u incident energy were detected in a streamer chamber by their charged-particle decay. For central collisions with impact parameters b<2.4 fm the Lambda production cross section is 7.6±2.2 mb. A calculation in which Lambda production occurs in the early stage of the collision qualitatively reproduces the results but underestimates the transverse momenta. An average Lambda polarization of -0.10±0.05 is observed. PACS numbers: 25.70 Bc
Pion production and charged-particle multiplicity selection in relativistic nuclear collisions
(1982)
Spectra of positive pions with energies of 15-95 MeV were measured for high energy proton, 4He, 20Ne, and 40Ar bombardments of targets of 27Al, 40Ca, 107,109Ag, 197Au, and 238U. A Si-Ge telescope was used to identify charged pions by dE / dx-E and, in addition, stopped pi + were tagged by the subsequent muon decay. In all, results for 14 target-projectile combinations are presented to study the dependence of pion emission patterns on the bombarding energy (from E / A=0.25 to 2.1 GeV) and on the target and the projectile masses. In addition, associated charged-particle multiplicities were measured in an 80-paddle array of plastic scintillators, and used to make impact parameter selections on the pion-inclusive data. NUCLEAR REACTIONS U(20Ne, pi +), E / A=250 MeV; U(40Ar, pi +), Ca(40Ar, pi +), U(20Ne, pi +), Au(20Ne, pi +), Ag(20Ne, pi +), Al(20Ne, pi +), U(4He, pi +), Al(4He, pi +). E / A=400 MeV; Ca(40Ar, pi +), U(20Ne, pi +), U(4He, pi +), U(p, pi +), E / A=1.05), GeV; U(20Ne, pi +), E / A=2.1 GeV; measured sigma (E, theta ), inclusive and selected on associated charged-particle multiplicity.
Energy spectra and angular distributions have been measured of 3He and 4He fragments emitted from Ag and U targets, bombarded with 2.7-GeV protons, and 1.05-GeV/nucleon alpha particles and 16O ions. All cross sections increase dramatically with projectile mass. No narrow peaks are found in the angular distributions or in the energy spectra.
Double-differential cross sections have been measured for high-energy p, d, t, 3He, and 4He particles emitted from uranium targets irradiated with 20Ne ions at energies of 250, 400, and 2100 MeV/nucleon and 4He ions at 400 MeV/nucleon. By using the shape and yield of the proton energy spectra, the shape and yield of the d, t, 3He, and 4He energy spectra can be deduced at all measured angles for all incident projectile energies by assuming that they are formed by a coalescence of cascade nucleons, using a model analogous to that of Butler and Pearson, and Schwarzschild and Zupancic-caron.
A simple model is proposed for the emission of nucleons with velocities intermediate between those of the target and projectile. In this model, the nucleons which are mutually swept out from the target and projectile form a hot quasiequilibrated fireball which decays as an ideal gas. The overall features of the proton-inclusive spectra from 250- and 400-MeV/nucleon 20Ne ions and 400-MeV/nucleon 4He ions interacting with uranium are fitted without any adjustable parameters.
The energy spectra of protons and light nuclei produced by the interaction of 4He and 20Ne projectiles with Al and U targets have been investigated at incident energies ranging from 0.25 to 2.1 GeV per nucleon. Single fragment inclusive spectra have been obtained at angles between 25° and 150°, in the energy range from 30 to 150 MeV/nucleon. The multiplicity of intermediate and high energy charged particles was determined in coincidence with the measured fragments. In a separate study, fragment spectra were obtained in the evaporation energy range from 12C and 20Ne bombardment of uranium. We observe structureless, exponentially decaying spectra throughout the range of studied fragment masses. There is evidence for two major classes of fragments; one with emission at intermediate temperature from a system moving slowly in the lab frame, and the other with high temperature emission from a system propagating at a velocity intermediate between target and projectile. The high energy proton spectra are fairly well reproduced by a nuclear fireball model based on simple geometrical, kinematical, and statistical assumptions. Light cluster emission is also discussed in the framework of statistical models. NUCLEAR REACTIONS U(20Ne,X), E=250 MeV/nucl.; U(20Ne,X), U(α,X) E=400 MeV/nucl.; U(20Ne,X), Al(20Ne,X), E=2.1 GeV/nucl.; measured σ(E,θ), X=p, d, t, 3He,4He. U(20Ne,X), U(α,X), E=400 MeV/nucl.; U(20Ne,X), E=2.1 GeV/nucl.; measured σ(E, θ), Li to O. U(20Ne,X), U(12C,X), E=2.1 GeV/nucl.; measured σ(E, 90°), 4He to B. Nuclear fireballs, coalescence, thermodynamics of light nuclei production.
Particle production in central Pb+Pb collisions was studied with the NA49 large acceptance spectrometer at the CERN SPS at beam energies of 20, 30, 40, 80, and 158 GeV per nucleon. A change of the energy dependence is observed around 30A GeV for the yields of pions and strange particles as well as for the shapes of the transverse mass spectra. At present only a reaction scenario with onset of deconfinement is able to reproduce the measurements.
A systematic analysis of data on strangeness and pion production in nucleon–nucleon and central nucleus–nucleus collisions is presented. It is shown that at all collision energies the pion/baryon and strangeness/pion ratios indicate saturation with the size of the colliding nuclei. The energy dependence of the saturation level suggests that the transition to the Quark Gluon Plasma occurs between 15 A·GeV/c (BNL AGS) and 160 A·GeV/c (CERN SPS) collision energies. The experimental results interpreted in the framework of a statistical approach show that the effective number of degrees of freedom increases in the course of the phase transition and that the plasma created at CERN SPS energies may have a temperature of about 280 MeV (energy density ~ 10 GeV/fm exp-3). The presence of the phase transition can lead to the non–monotonic collision energy dependence of the strangeness/pion ratio. After an initial increase the ratio should drop to the characteristic value for the QGP. Above the transition region the ratio is expected to be collision energy independent. Experimental studies of central Pb+Pb collisions in the energy range 20–160 A·GeV/c are urgently needed in order to localize the threshold energy, and study the properties of the QCD phase transition.
For investigation of space charge compensation process due to residual gas ionization and the experimentally study of the rise of compensation, a Low Energy Beam Transport (LEBT) system consisting of an ion source, two solenoids, a decompensation electrode to generate a pulsed decompensated ion beam and a diagnostic section was set up. The potentials at the beam axis and the beam edge were ascertained from time resolved measurements by a residual gas ion energy analyzer. A numerical simulation of self-consistent equilibrium states of the beam plasma has been developed to determine plasma parameters which are difficult to measure directly. The temporal development of the kinetic and potential energy of the compensation electrons has been analyzed by using the numerically gained results of the simulation. To investigate the compensation process the distribution and the losses of the compensation electrons were studied as a function of time. The acquired data show that the theoretical estimated rise time of space charge compensation neglecting electron losses is shorter than the build up time determined experimentally. To describe the process of space charge compensation an interpretation of the achieved results is given.
Investigation of the focus shift due to compensation process for low energy ion beam transport
(2000)
In magnetic Low Energy Beam Transport (LEBT) sections space charge compensation helps to enhance the transportable beam current and to reduce emittance growth due to space charge forces. For pulsed beams the time neccesary to establish space charge compensation is of great interest for beam transport. Particularly with regard to beam injection into the first accelerator section (e.g. RFQ) investigation of effects on shift of the beam focus due to space charge compensation are very important. The achieved results helps to obviate a mismatch into the first RFQ. To investigate the space charge compensation due to residual gas ionization, time resolved measurements using pulsed ion beams were performed at the LEBT system at the IAP and at the CEA-Saclay injektion line. A residual gas ion energy analyser (RGIA) equiped with a channeltron was used to measure the potential destribution as a function of time to estimate the rise time of compensation. For time resolved measurements (delta t min=50ns) of the radial density profile of the ion beam a CCD-camera was applied. The measured data were used in a numerical simulation of selfconsistant eqilibrium states of the beam plasma [1] to determine plasma parameters such as the density, the temperature, the kinetic and potential energy of the compensation electrons as a function of time. Measurements were done using focused proton beams (10keV, 2mA at IAP and 92keV, 62mA at CEA-Saclay) to get a better understanding of the influence of the compensation process. An interpretation of the acquired data and the achieved results will be presented.
Influence of space charge fluctuations on the low energy beam transport of high current ion beams
(2000)
For future high current ion accelerators like SNS, ESS or IFMIF the beam behaviour in low energy beam transport sections is dominated by space charge forces. Therefore space charge fluctuations (e. g. source noise) can drastically influence the beam transport properties of the low energy beam transport section. Losses of beam ions and emittance growth are the most severe problems. For electrostatic transport systems either a LEBT design has to be found which is insensitive to variations of the space charge or the origin of the fluctuations has to be eliminated. For space charge compensated transport as proposed for ESS and IFMIF the situation is different: No major influence on beam transport is expected for fluctuations below a cut-off frequency given by the production rate of the compensation particles. Above this frequency the fluctuations can not be compensated by particle production alone, but redistributions of the compensation particles helps to compensate the influence of the fluctuations. Above a second cut-off frequency given by the density and the temperature of the compensation particles their redistribution is too slow to reduce the influence of the space charge fluctuations. Transport simulations for the IFMIF injector including space charge fluctuations will be presented together with a determination of the cut-off frequencies. The results will be compared with measurements of the rise time of space charge compensation.
New results on the production of Xi and Omega hyperons in Pb+Pb interactions at 40 A GeV and Lambda at 30 A GeV are presented. Transverse mass spectra as well as rapidity spectra of these hyperons are shown and compared to previously measured data at different beam energies. The energy dependence of hyperon production (4Pi yields) is discussed. Additionally, the centrality dependence of Xi- production at 40 A GeV is presented.
First results on the production of Xi- and Anti-xi hyperons in Pb+Pb interactions at 40 A GeV are presented. The Anti-xi/Xi- ratio at midrapidity is studied as a function of collision centrality. The ratio shows no significant centrality dependence within statistical errors; it ranges from 0.07 to 0.15. The Anti-xi/Xi- ratio for central Pb+Pb collisions increases strongly with the collision energy.
High perveance negative ion beams with low emittance are essential for several next generation particle accelerators (i. g. spallation sources like ESS [1] and SNS [2]). The extraction and transport of these beams have intrinsic difficulties different from positive ion beams. Limitation of beam current and emittance growth have to be avoided. To fulfill the requirements of those projects a detailed knowledge of the physics of beam formation the interaction of the H- with the residual gas and transport is substantial. A compact cesium free H- volume source delivering a low energy high perveance beam (6.5 keV, 2.3 mA, perveance K= 0.0034) has been built to study the fundamental physics of beam transport and will be integrated into the existing LEBT section in the near future. First measurements of the interaction between the ion beam and the residual gas will be presented together with the experimental set up and preliminary results.
A LEBT system consisting of an ion source, two solenoids, and a diagnostic section has been set up to investigate the space charge compensation process due to residual gas ionization [1] and to study experimentally the rise of compensation. To gain the radial beam potential distribution time resolved measurements of the residual gas ion energy distribution were carried out using a Hughes Rojanski analyzer [2,3]. To measure the radial density profile of the ion beam a CCD-camera performed time resolved measurements, which allow an estimation the rise time of compensation. Further the dynamic effect of the space charge compensation on the beam transport was shown. A numerical simulation under assumption of selfconsistent states [4] of the beam plasma has been used to determine plasma parameters such as the radial density profile and the temperature of the electrons. The acquired data show that the theoretical estimated rise time of space charge compensation neglecting electron losses is shorter than the build up time determined experimentally. An interpretation of the achieved results is given.
To fulfil the requirements of ESS on beam transmission and emittance growth a detailed knowledge of the physics of beam formation as well as the interaction of the H- with the residual gas is substantial. Space charge compensated beam transport using solenoids for ion optics is in favour for the Low Energy Beam Transport (LEBT) between ion source and the first RFQ. Space charge compensation reduces the electrical self fields and beam radii and therefore emittance growth due to aberrations and redistribution. Transport of H- near the ion source is negatively influenced by the dipole fields required for beam extraction and e--dumping and the high gas pressure. The destruction of the rotational symmetry together with the space charge forces causes emittance growth and particle losses within the extraction system. High residual gas pressure near the extractor together with the high cross section for stripping will influence the transmission as well as space charge compensation. Therefore a detailed knowledge of the interaction of the residual gas with the beam and the influence of the external fields on the distribution of the compensation particles is necessary to reduce particle losses and emittance growth. Preliminary experiments using positive hydrogen ions for reference already show the influence of dipole fields on beam emittance. First measurements with H- confirm these results. Additional information on the interactions of the residual gas with the beam ions have been gained from the measurements using the momentum and energy analyser.
Excitation functions for quasi-elastic scattering have been measured at backward angles for the systems 32,34S+197Au and 32,34S+208Pb for energies spanning the Coulomb barrier. Representative distributions, sensitive to the low energy part of the fusion barrier distribution, have been extracted from the data. For the fusion reactions of 32,34S with 197Au couplings related to the nuclear structure of 197Au appear to be dominant in shaping the low energy part of the barrier distibution. For the system 32S+208Pb the barrier distribution is broader and extends further to lower energies, than in the case of 34S+208Pb. This is consistent with the interpretation that the neutron pick-up channels are energetically more favoured in the 32S induced reaction and therefore couple more strongly to the relative motion. It may also be due to the increased collectivity of 32S, when compared with 34S.
We investigate transverse hadron spectra from relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions which reflect important aspects of the dynamics - such as the generation of pressure - in the hot and dense zone formed in the early phase of the reaction. Our analysis is performed within two independent transport approaches (HSD and UrQMD) that are based on quark, diquark, string and hadronic degrees of freedom. Both transport models show their reliability for elementary pp as well as light-ion (C+C, Si+Si) reactions. However, for central Au+Au (Pb+Pb) collisions at bombarding energies above ~ 5 A.GeV the measured K+- transverse mass spectra have a larger inverse slope parameter than expected from the calculation. Thus the pressure generated by hadronic interactions in the transport models above ~ 5 A.GeV is lower than observed in the experimental data. This finding shows that the additional pressure - as expected from lattice QCD calculations at finite quark chemical potential and temperature - is generated by strong partonic interactions in the early phase of central Au+Au (Pb+Pb) collisions.
We investigate hadron production as well as transverse hadron spectra in nucleus-nucleus collisions from 2 A.GeV to 21.3 A.TeV within two independent transport approaches (UrQMD and HSD) that are based on quark, diquark, string and hadronic degrees of freedom. The comparison to experimental data demonstrates that both approaches agree quite well with each other and with the experimental data on hadron production. The enhancement of pion production in central Au+Au (Pb+Pb) collisions relative to scaled pp collisions (the 'kink') is well described by both approaches without involving any phase transition. However, the maximum in the K+/Pi+ ratio at 20 to 30 A.GeV (the 'horn') is missed by ~ 40%. A comparison to the transverse mass spectra from pp and C+C (or Si+Si) reactions shows the reliability of the transport models for light systems. For central Au+Au (Pb+Pb) collisions at bombarding energies above ~ 5 A.GeV, however, the measured K +/- m-theta-spectra have a larger inverse slope parameter than expected from the calculations. The approximately constant slope of K+/-spectra at SPS (the 'step') is not reproduced either. Thus the pressure generated by hadronic interactions in the transport models above ~ 5 A.GeV is lower than observed in the experimental data. This finding suggests that the additional pressure - as expected from lattice QCD calculations at finite quark chemical potential and temperature - might be generated by strong interactions in the early pre-hadronic/partonic phase of central Au+Au (Pb+Pb) collisions.
We investigate hadron production as well as transverse hadron spectra from proton-proton, proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions from 2 A·GeV to 21.3 A·TeV within two independent transport approaches (HSD and UrQMD) that are based on quark, diquark, string and hadronic degrees of freedom. The comparison to experimental data on transverse mass spectra from pp, pA and C+C (or Si+Si) reactions shows the reliability of the transport models for light systems. For central Au+Au (Pb+Pb) collisions at bombarding energies above ~5 A·GeV, furthermore, the measured K± transverse mass spectra have a larger inverse slope parameter than expected from the default calculations. We investigate various scenarios to explore their potential effects on the K± spectra. In particular the initial state Cronin effect is found to play a substantial role at top SPS and RHIC energies. However, the maximum in the K+/..+ ratio at 20 to 30 A·GeV is missed by 40% and the approximately constant slope of the K± spectra at SPS energies is not reproduced either. Our systematic analysis suggests that the additional pressure - as expected from lattice QCD calculations at finite quark chemical potential µq and temperature T- should be generated by strong interactions in the early pre-hadronic/partonic phase of central Au+Au (Pb+Pb) collisions.