The transverse momentum and rapidity distributions of net protons and negatively charged hadrons have been measured for minimum bias proton-nucleus and deuteron-gold interactions, as well as central oxygen-gold and sulphur-nucleus collisions at 200 GeV per nucleon. The rapidity density of net protons at midrapidity in central nucleus-nucleus collisions increases both with target mass for sulphur projectiles and with the projectile mass for a gold target. The shape of the rapidity distributions of net protons forward of midrapidity for d+Au and central S+Au collisions is similar. The average rapidity loss is larger than 2 units of rapidity for reactions with the gold target. The transverse momentum spectra of net protons for all reactions can be described by a thermal distribution with `temperatures' between 145 +- 11 MeV (p+S interactions) and 244 +- 43 MeV (central S+Au collisions). The multiplicity of negatively charged hadrons increases with the mass of the colliding system. The shape of the transverse momentum spectra of negatively charged hadrons changes from minimum bias p+p and p+S interactions to p+Au and central nucleus-nucleus collisions. The mean transverse momentum is almost constant in the vicinity of midrapidity and shows little variation with the target and projectile masses. The average number of produced negatively charged hadrons per participant baryon increases slightly from p+p, p+A to central S+S,Ag collisions.
Product of charged kaons in central S + S and O + Au collisions at 200 GeV/nucleon has been studied in the NA 35 Streamer Chamber experiment. Mean multiplicities and transverse mass distributions were obtained. They were compared with nucleon-nucleon data and with model predictions.
We report a systematic study of mid-rapidityET production and forward energy flow in the interaction of16O projectiles on Al, Cu, Ag and Au at 60 and 200 GeV/nucleon. First results onET production with32S projectiles are presented.
Phi meson production is studied by the NA49 collaboration in central Pb+Pb collisions at 20A, 30A, 40A, 80A and 158A GeV beam energy. The data are compared to measurements at lower and higher energies and to microscopic and thermal models. The energy dependence of yields and spectral distributions is compatible with the assumption that partonic degrees of freedom set in at low SPS energies.
None
We report on a systematic study of midrapidity transverse energy production and forward energy flow in interactions of16O and32S projectiles with S, Cu, Ag and Au targets at 60 and 200 GeV/nucleon. The variation of the shape of theET distributions with target and projectile mass can be understood from collision geometry. AverageET values determined for central collisions show an increasing stopping power for heavier target nuclei. A higher relative stopping is observed at 60 GeV/nucleon than at 200 GeV/nucleon. Bjorken estimates of the energy density reach approximately 3 GeV/fm3 in highET events at 200 GeV/nucleon with16O and32S projectiles. The systematics of the data and the shapes ofET and pseudorapidity distributions are well described by the Lund model Fritiof.
Results on charged pion and kaon production in central Pb+Pb collisions at 20A and 30A GeV are presented and compared to data at lower and higher energies. A rapid change of the energy dependence is observed around 30A GeV for the yields of pions and kaons as well as for the shape of the transverse mass spectra. The change is compatible with the prediction that the threshold for production of a state of deconfined matter at the early stage of the collisions is located at low SPS energies.
Kaons and protons carry large parts of two conserved quantities, strangeness and baryon number. It is argued that their correlation and thus also fluctuations are sensitive to conditions prevailing at the anticipated parton-hadron phase boundary. Fluctuations of the $(\mathrm{K}^+ + \mathrm{K}^-)/(\mathrm{p}+\bar{\mathrm{p}})$ and $\mathrm{K}^+/\mathrm{p}$ ratios have been measured for the first time by NA49 in central Pb+Pb collisions at 5 SPS energies between $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$= 6.3 GeV and 17.3 GeV. Both ratios exhibit a change of sign in $\sigma_{\mathrm{dyn}}$, a measure of non-statistical fluctuations, around $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 8 GeV. Below this energy, $\sigma_{\mathrm{dyn}}$ is positive, indicating higher fluctuation compared to a mixed event background sample, while for higher energies, $\sigma_{\mathrm{dyn}}$ is negative, indicating correlated emission of kaons and protons. The results are compared to UrQMD calculations which which give a good description at the higher SPS energies, but fail to reproduce the transition to positive values.
None
The production of neutral strange particlesKso, Λ and\(\bar \Lambda \) has been studied in 60 and 200 GeV per nucleon OAu and pAu collisions with the streamer chamber vertex spectrometer of the NA35 experiment at the CERN-SPS accelerator. Ratios of neutral strange particle production to negatively charged particle production in selected regions of phase space were measured to be the same in OAu and pAu reactions. The rates of strange particle production in central OAu collisions are about a factor of 16 higher than in pAu collisions when compared in the same regions of phase space. If an enhancement of strange particle production in OAu collisions relative to pAu collisions is considered to be a signature for quark-gluon plasma formation, no evidence supporting it is observed. The experimental results are compared to the Lund FRITIOF model.
Forum