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Two-particle correlation functions of negative hadrons over wide phase space, and transverse mass spectra of negative hadrons and deuterons near mid-rapidity have been measured in central Pb+Pb collisions at 158 GeV per nucleon by the NA49 experiment at the CERN SPS. A novel Coulomb correction procedure for the negative two-particle correlations is employed making use of the measured oppositely charged particle correlation. Within an expanding source scenario these results are used to extract the dynamic characteristics of the hadronic source, resolving the ambiguities between the temperature and transverse expansion velocity of the source, that are unavoidable when single and two particle spectra are analysed separately. The source shape, the total duration of the source expansion, the duration of particle emission, the freeze-out temperature and the longitudinal and transverse expansion velocities are deduced.
We report measurements of Xi and Xi-bar hyperon absolute yields as a function of rapidity in 158 GeV/c Pb+Pb collisions. At midrapidity, dN/dy = 2.29 +/- 0.12 for Xi, and 0.52 +/- 0.05 for Xi-bar, leading to the ratio of Xi-bar/Xi = 0.23 +/- 0.03. Inverse slope parameters fitted to the measured transverse mass spectra are of the order of 300 MeV near mid-rapidity. The estimated total yield of Xi particles in Pb+Pb central interactions amounts to 7.4 +/- 1.0 per collision. Comparison to Xi production in properly scaled p+p reactions at the same energy reveals a dramatic enhancement (about one order of magnitude) of Xi production in Pb+Pb central collisions over elementary hadron interactions.
The large acceptance TPCs of the NA49 spectrometer allow for a systematic multidimensional study of two-particle correlations in different part of phase space. Results from Bertsch-Pratt and Yano-Koonin-Podgoretskii parametrizations are presented differentially in transverse pair momentum and pair rapidity. These studies give an insight into the dynamical space-time evolution of relativistic Pb+Pb collisions, which is dominated by longitudinal expansion.
A statistical model of the early stage of central nucleus--nucleus (A+A) collisions is developed. We suggest a description of the confined state with several free parameters fitted to a compilation of A+A data at the AGS. For the deconfined state a simple Bag model equation of state is assumed. The model leads to the conclusion that a Quark Gluon Plasma is created in central nucleus--nucleus collisions at the SPS. This result is in quantitative agreement with existing SPS data on pion and strangeness production and gives a natural explanation for their scaling behaviour. The localization and the properties of the transition region are discussed. It is shown that the deconfinement transition can be detected by observation of the characteristic energy dependence of pion and strangeness multiplicities, and by an increase of the event--by--event fluctuations. An attempt to understand the data on J/psi production in Pb+Pb collisions at the SPS within the same approach is presented.
A brief review of a history of data collection and interpretation of the results on high energy A+A collisions is presented. Basic assumptions and main results of a statistical model of the early stage of the A+A collisions are discussed. It is concluded that a broad set of experimental data is in agreement with the hypothesis that QGP is created in central A+A (S+S and Pb+Pb) collisions at the SPS. Carefull experimental investigation of the A+A collisions in the energy region between top AGS and SPS energies is needed.
Data on J/psi production in inelastic proton-proton, proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus interactions at 158 A GeV are analyzed and it is shown that the ratio of mean multiplicities of J/psi mesons and pions is the same for all these collisions. This observation is difficult to understand within current models of J/psi production in nuclear collisions based on the assumption of hard QCD creation of charm quarks.
Transverse momentum event-by-event fluctuations are studied within the string-hadronic model of high energy nuclear collisions, LUCIAE. Data on non-statistical pT fluctuations in p+p interactions are reproduced. Fluctuations of similar magnitude are predicted for nucleus-nucleus collisions, in contradiction to the preliminary NA49 results. The introduction of a string clustering mechanism (Firecracker Model) leads to a further, significant increase of pT fluctuations for nucleus-nucleus collisions. Secondary hadronic interactions, as implemented in LUCIAE, cause only a small reduction of pT fluctuations.
The pion multiplicity per participating nucleon in central nucleus-nucleus collisions at the energies 2-15 A GeV is significantly smaller than in nucleon-nucleon interactions at the same collision energy. This effect of pion suppression is argued to appear due to the evolution of the system produced at the early stage of heavy-ion collisions towards a local thermodynamic equilibrium and further isentropic expansion.