Mean Field Effects In The Quark-Gluon Plasma

A transport model based on the mean free path approach for an interacting meson system at finite temperatures is discussed. A transition to a quark gluon plasma is included within the framework of the MIT bag model. The results obtained compare very well with Lattice QCD calculations when we include a mean field in the QGP phase due to the Debye color screening. In particular the cross over to the QGP at about 175 MeV temperature is nicely reproduced. We also discuss a possible scenario for hadronization which is especially important for temperatures below the QGP phase transition

Energy and centrality dependences of charged multiplicity density in relativistic nuclear collisions

Using a hadron and string cascade model, JPCIAE, the energy and centrality dependences of charged particle pseudorapidity density in relativistic nuclear collisions were studied. Within the framework of this model, both the relativistic $p+\bar p$ experimental data and the PHOBOS and PHENIX $Au+Au$ data at $\sqrt s_{nn}$=130 GeV could be reproduced fairly well without retuning the model parameters. The predictions for full RHIC energy $Au+Au$ collisions and for $Pb+Pb$ collisions at the ALICE energy were given. Participant nucleon distributions were calculated based on different methods. It was found that the number of participant nucleons, $$, is not a well defined variable both experimentally and theoretically. Therefore, it is inappropriate to use charged particle pseudorapidity density per participant pair as a function of$$ for distinguishing various theoretical models.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phy. Lett.

Transverse Energy Evolution as a Test of Parton Cascade Models

We propose a test of Monte Carlo Parton Cascade models based on analytic solutions of covariant kinetic theory for longitudinally boost and transverse translation invariant boundary conditions. We compute the evolution of the transverse energy per unit rapidity for typical mini-jet initial conditions expected in ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions. The kinetic theory solutions under these conditions test the models severely because they deviate strongly from free-streaming and also from ideal Euler and dissipative Navier-Stokes hydrodynamical approximations. We show that the newly formulated ZPC model passes this test. In addition, we show that the initial mini-jet density would need to be approximately four times higher than estimated with the HIJING generator in central Au+Au collisions at c.m. energies 200 AGeV in order that parton cascade dynamics can be approximated by Navier-Stokes hydrodynamics.Comment: Latex 28 pages, including 5 figure (postscript embedded with psfig

The QGP phase in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

The dynamics of partons, hadrons and strings in relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions is analyzed within the novel Parton-Hadron-String Dynamics (PHSD) transport approach, which is based on a dynamical quasiparticle model for partons (DQPM) matched to reproduce recent lattice-QCD results - including the partonic equation of state - in thermodynamic equilibrium. The transition from partonic to hadronic degrees of freedom is described by covariant transition rates for the fusion of quark-antiquark pairs or three quarks (antiquarks), respectively, obeying flavor current-conservation, color neutrality as well as energy-momentum conservation. The PHSD approach is applied to nucleus-nucleus collisions from low SIS to RHIC energies. The traces of partonic interactions are found in particular in the elliptic flow of hadrons as well as in their transverse mass spectra.Comment: To be published by Springer in Proceedings of the International Symposium on `Exciting Physics', Makutsi-Range, South Africa, 13-20 November, 201

Charged pions from Ni on Ni collisions between 1 and 2 AGeV

Charged pions from Ni + Ni reactions at 1.05, 1.45 and 1.93 AGeV are measured with the FOPI detector. The mean $\pi^{\pm}$ multiplicities per mean number of participants increase with beam energy, in accordance with earlier studies of the Ar + KCl and La + La systems. The pion kinetic energy spectra have concave shape and are fitted by the superposition of two Boltzmann distributions with different temperatures. These apparent temperatures depend only weakly on bombarding energy. The pion angular distributions show a forward/backward enhancement at all energies, but not the $\Theta = 90^0$ enhancement which was observed in case of the Au + Au system. These features also determine the rapidity distributions which are therefore in disagreement with the hypothesis of one thermal source. The importance of the Coulomb interaction and of the pion rescattering by spectator matter in producing these phenomena is discussed.Comment: 22 pages, Latex using documentstyle[12pt,a4,epsfig], to appear in Z. Phys.

QGP Theory: Status and Perspectives

The current status of Quark-Gluon-Plasma Theory is reviewed. Special emphasis is placed on QGP signatures, the interpretation of current data and what to expect from RHIC in the near future.Comment: 20 pages, invited overview talk at the 4th International Conference on the Physcis and Astrophysics of the Quark-Gluon-Plasma, November 2001, Jaipur, India, to appear in Praman

Υ\Upsilon absorption in hadronic matter

The cross sections of $\Upsilon$ absorption by $\pi$ and $\rho$ mesons are evaluated in a meson-exchange model. Including form factors with a cutoff parameter of 1 or 2 GeV, we find that due to the large threshold of these reactions the thermal average of their cross sections is only about 0.2 mb at a temperature of 150 MeV. Our results thus suggest that the absorption of directly produced $\Upsilon$ by hadronic comovers in high energy heavy ion collisions is unimportant.Comment: 11 pages, revtex, 3 figures, added references and discussion on higher BBbar state

Δ\Delta-scaling and Information Entropy in Ultra-Relativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions

The $\Delta$-scaling method has been applied to ultra-relativistic p+p, C+C and Pb+Pb collision data simulated using a high energy Monte Carlo package, LUCIAE 3.0. The $\Delta$-scaling is found to be valid for some physical variables, such as charged particle multiplicity, strange particle multiplicity and number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions from these simulated nucleus-nucleus collisions over an extended energy ranging from $E_{lab}$ = 20 to 200 A GeV. In addition we derived information entropy from the multiplicity distribution as a function of beam energy for these collisions.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; to appear in the July Issue of Chin. Phys. Lett.. Web Page: http://www.iop.org/EJ/journal/CP

The Effect of Dynamical Parton Recombination on Event-by-Event Observables

Within a dynamical quark recombination model we explore various proposed event-by-event observables sensitive to the microscopic structure of the QCD-matter created at RHIC energies. Charge fluctuations, charge transfer fluctuations and baryon-strangeness correlations are computed from a sample of central Au+Au events at the highest RHIC energy available ($\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=200 GeV). We find that for all explored observables, the calculations yield the values predicted for a quark-gluon plasma only at early times of the evolution, whereas the final state approaches the values expected for a hadronic gas. We argue that the recombination-like hadronization process itself is responsible for the disappearance of the predicted deconfinement signatures. This might explain why no fluctuation signatures for the transition between quark and hadronic matter was ever observed in the experimental data up to now. However, it might also be interpreted as a clear indication for a recombination like hadronization process at RHIC.Comment: 5 page

Study of relativistic nuclear collisions at AGS energies from p+Be to Au+Au with hadronic cascade model

A hadronic cascade model based on resonances and strings is used to study mass dependence of relativistic nuclear collisions from p+Be to Au+Au at AGS energies (\sim 10\AGeV) systematically. Hadron transverse momentum and rapidity distributions obtained with both cascade calculations and Glauber type calculations are compared with experimental data to perform detailed discussion about the importance of rescattering among hadrons. We find good agreement with the experimental data without any change of model parameters with the cascade model. It is found that rescattering is of importance both for the explanation of high transverse momentum tail and for the multiplicity of produced particles.Comment: 27 pages, 30 figure