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.
We have measured the ratios of antiparticles to particles for charged pions, kaons and protons near mid-rapidity in central Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 130 GeV. For protons, we observe pbar/p = 0.60 +/- 0.04 (stat.) +/- 0.06 (syst.) in the transverse momentum range 0.15 < p_T < 1.0 GeV/c. This leads to an estimate of the baryo-chemical potential mu_B of 45 MeV, a factor of 5-6 smaller than in central Pb+Pb collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 17.2 GeV.
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