Phi meson production in near threshold proton-nucleus collisions

The cross section for production of Phi mesons in proton-nucleus reactions is calculated as a function of the target mass. The decay width of the Phi meson is affected by the change of the masses of the Phi, K+ and K- mesons in the medium. A strong attractive K- potential leads to a measurable change of the behavior of the cross section as a function of of the target mass. Comparison between the kaon and electron decay modes are made.Comment: 4 pages, 1figure, new figure, new reference

Integration of a virus membrane protein into the lipid bilayer of target cells as a prerequisite for immune cytolysis

Structural requirements for membrane antigens on target cells to mediate immune cytolysis were studied in a model system with purified membrane proteins from Semliki Forest virus (SFV). These SFV spike proteins were isolated in the form of detergent- and lipid-free protein micelles (29S complexes) or, after reconstitution into lipid vesicles, in the form of virosomes. Both the 29S complexes and the virosomes were found to bind well to murine tumor cells (P815 or Eb). When these cells, however, were used as target cells in complement-dependent lysis or in antibody-dependent cell- mediated cytotoxicity assays in the presence of anti-SFV serum, they were not lysed, although they effectively bound the antibody and consumed complement. The same tumor cells infected with SFV served as positive controls in both assays. Different results were obtained when inactivated Sendai virus was added as a fusion reagent to the cells coated with either virosomes or 29S complexes. Under these conditions the virosome-coated cells became susceptible to SFV- specific lysis, whereas the 29S complex-coated cells remained resistant. Evidence that the susceptibility to lysis ofvirosome-coated cells was dependent on active fusion and, therefore, integration of the viral antigens into the lipid bilayer of the target cells was derived from control experiments with enzyme-treated Sendai virus preparations. The 29S complexes and the virosomes partially and selectively blocked the target cell lysis by anti-H-2 sera but not by anti-non-H-2 sera confirming our previous finding that major histocompatibility antigens serve as receptors for SFV. The general significance of these findings for mechanisms of immune cytolysis is dicussed

Angular distribution and azimuthal asymmetry for pentaquark production in proton-proton collisions

Angular distributions for production of the $\Theta^+$ pentaquark are calculated for the collisions of polarized protons with polarized target protons. We compare calculations based on different assumptions concerning spin and parity ($J=1/2^\pm,3/2^\pm$) of the $\Theta^+$ state. For a wide class of interactions the spin correlation parameters describing the asymmetric angular distributions are calculated up to 250 MeV above production threshold. The deviations from the near threshold behavior are investigated.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Calculations of K+, K- and phi Production in Near-Threshold Proton-Nucleus Collisions

K+, K- and \phi meson production in proton-nucleus (pA) collisions has been calculated within a BUU transport model. It is shown that the nucleon-hyperon strangeness transfer channel is essential. The role of three-body reactions has been investigated within the medium. The targetmass dependence of $\phi$ production is predicted to give important information on the in-medium properties of all three mesons.Comment: Talk presented by H.W.B. at the Budapest 2004 workshop on 'Hot and Dense Matter in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions', March 24-27, 2004, Budapest, Hungar

Freeze-out from HBT and Coulomb Effects

The freeze-out of hot and dense hadronic matter formed in relativistic nuclear collisions is probed by HBT interferometry of identical pions, kaons, etc. Coulomb repulsion/attraction of positive/negative particles show up at small particle momenta and is also very sensitive to the freeze-out conditions. The source sizes and times freeze-out are extracted from $\pi^-/\pi^+$ spectra and HBT radii and compared.Comment: 4 pages, proc. of QM'97, Tsukuba, Japa

Size of Fireballs Created in High Energy Lead-Lead Collisions as Inferred from Coulomb Distortions of Pion Spectra

We compute the Coulomb effects produced by an expanding, highly charged fireball on the momentum distribution of pions. We compare our results to data on Au+Au at 11.6 A GeV from E866 at the BNL AGS and to data on Pb+Pb at 158 A GeV from NA44 at the CERN SPS. We conclude that the distortion of the spectra at low transverse momentum and mid-rapidity can be explained in both experiments by the effect of the large amount of participating charge in the central rapidity region. By adjusting the fireball expansion velocity to match the average transverse momentum of protons, we find a best fit when the fireball radius is about 10 fm, as determined by the moment when the pions undergo their last scattering. This value is common to both the AGS and CERN experiments.Comment: Enlarged discussion, new references added, includes new analysis of pi-/pi+ at AGS energies. 12 pages 5 figures, uses LaTex and epsfi

Radial flow has little effect on clusterization at intermediate energies in the framework of the Lattice Gas Model

The Lattice Gas Model was extended to incorporate the effect of radial flow. Contrary to popular belief, radial flow has little effect on the clusterization process in intermediate energy heavy-ion collisions except adding an ordered motion to the particles in the fragmentation source. We compared the results from the lattice gas model with and without radial flow to experimental data. We found that charge yields from central collisions are not significantly affected by inclusion of any reasonable radial flow.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PRC; Minor update and resubmitted to PR

Coulomb Effects on Particle Spectra in Relativistic Nuclear Collisions

Coulomb effects on $\pi^\pm$ and $K^\pm$ spectra in relativistic nuclear collisions are investigated. At collision energies around 1 GeV the ratio of at ultrarelativistic energies. We describe the ratios at SIS, AGS and SPS energies with simple analytic models as well as more elaborate numerical models incorporating the expansion dynamics. The Coulomb effect depends on the properties of the source after the violent collision phase and provides information on source sizes, freeze-out times, and expansion velocities. Comparison with results from HBT analyses are made. Predictions for $\pi^\pm$ and $K^\pm$ at RHIC and LHC energies are given