Central Coulomb Effects on Pion Interferometry

Using a simple final-state rescattering model coupled with a simple Coulomb model, the effects of the central Coulomb potential on pion interferometry measurements in 158 GeV/nucleon Pb+Pb collisions are explored. Although the central Coulomb potential does not introduce correlations between pions, it does prevent an accurate measurement of the momentum difference. This momentum difference smearing effect leads to a reduction in the measured correlation radii and lambda parameters. These distortions are important in 158 GeV/nucleon Pb+Pb collisions because of large source sizes and the strong central Coulomb potential.Comment: 6 pages, Latex, 2 postscript figure

Antinucleus Production at RHIC

Light antinuclei may be formed in relativistic heavy ion collisions via final state coalescence of antinucleons. The yields of antinuclei are sensitive to primordial antinucleon production, the volume of the system at kinetic freeze-out, and space-momentum correlations among antinucleons at freeze-out. We report here preliminary STAR results on antideuteron and antihelion production in 130A GeV Au+Au collisions. These results are examined in a coalescence framework to elucidate the space-time structure of the antinucleon source.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, talk given at Quark Matter 200

The relationship between particle freeze-out distributions and HBT radius parameters

The relationship between pion and kaon space-time freeze-out distributions and the HBT radius parameters in high-energy nucleus-nucleus collisions is investigated. We show that the HBT radius parameters in general do not reflect the R.M.S. deviations of the single particle production points. Instead, the HBT radius parameters are most closely related to the curvature of the two-particle space-time relative position distribution at the origin. We support our arguments by studies with a dynamical model (RQMD 2.4).Comment: RevTex, 10 pages including 3 figures. v2: Discussion of the lambda parameter has been added. PRC, in prin

Effect of the source charge on charged-beam interferometry

We investigate quantal perturbations of the interferometric correlations of charged bosons by the Coulomb field of an instantaneous, charged source. The source charge increases the apparent source size by weakening the correlation at non-zero relative momenta. The effect is strongest for pairs with a small total momentum and is stronger for kaons than for pions of the same momenta. The experimental data currently available are well described by this effect without invoking Pratt's exploding source model. A simple expression is proposed to account for the effect.Comment: 9 pages TEX, 3 Postscript figures available at http://www.krl.caltech.edu/preprints/MAP.htm

Strange Meson Enhancement in PbPb Collisions

The NA44 Collaboration has measured yields and differential distributions of K+, K-, pi+, pi- in transverse kinetic energy and rapidity, around the center-of-mass rapidity in 158 A GeV/c Pb+Pb collisions at the CERN SPS. A considerable enhancement of K+ production per pi is observed, as compared to p+p collisions at this energy. To illustrate the importance of secondary hadron rescattering as an enhancement mechanism, we compare strangeness production at the SPS and AGS with predictions of the transport model RQMD.Comment: 11 pages, including 4 figures, LATE

(Strange) Meson Interferometry at RHIC

We make predictions for the kaon interferometry measurements in Au+Au collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). A first order phase transition from a thermalized Quark-Gluon-Plasma (QGP) to a gas of hadrons is assumed for the transport calculations. The fraction of kaons that are directly emitted from the phase boundary is considerably enhanced at large transverse momenta K_T ~ 1 GeV/c. In this kinematic region, the sensitivity of the R_out/R_side ratio to the QGP-properties is enlarged. Here, the results of the 1-dimensional correlation analysis are presented. The extracted interferometry radii, depending on $K_T$, are not unusually large and are strongly affected by momentum resolution effects.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Search for Point Sources of High Energy Neutrinos with AMANDA

This paper describes the search for astronomical sources of high-energy neutrinos using the AMANDA-B10 detector, an array of 302 photomultiplier tubes, used for the detection of Cherenkov light from upward traveling neutrino-induced muons, buried deep in ice at the South Pole. The absolute pointing accuracy and angular resolution were studied by using coincident events between the AMANDA detector and two independent telescopes on the surface, the GASP air Cherenkov telescope and the SPASE extensive air shower array. Using data collected from April to October of 1997 (130.1 days of livetime), a general survey of the northern hemisphere revealed no statistically significant excess of events from any direction. The sensitivity for a flux of muon neutrinos is based on the effective detection area for through-going muons. Averaged over the Northern sky, the effective detection area exceeds 10,000 m^2 for E_{mu} ~ 10 TeV. Neutrinos generated in the atmosphere by cosmic ray interactions were used to verify the predicted performance of the detector. For a source with a differential energy spectrum proportional to E_{nu}^{-2} and declination larger than +40 degrees, we obtain E^2(dN_{nu}/dE) <= 10^{-6}GeVcm^{-2}s^{-1} for an energy threshold of 10 GeV.Comment: 46 pages, 22 figures, 4 tables, submitted to Ap.

Limits on the high-energy gamma and neutrino fluxes from the SGR 1806-20 giant flare of December 27th, 2004 with the AMANDA-II detector

On December 27th 2004, a giant gamma flare from the Soft Gamma-ray Repeater 1806-20 saturated many satellite gamma-ray detectors. This event was by more than two orders of magnitude the brightest cosmic transient ever observed. If the gamma emission extends up to TeV energies with a hard power law energy spectrum, photo-produced muons could be observed in surface and underground arrays. Moreover, high-energy neutrinos could have been produced during the SGR giant flare if there were substantial baryonic outflow from the magnetar. These high-energy neutrinos would have also produced muons in an underground array. AMANDA-II was used to search for downgoing muons indicative of high-energy gammas and/or neutrinos. The data revealed no significant signal. The upper limit on the gamma flux at 90% CL is dN/dE < 0.05 (0.5) TeV^-1 m^-2 s^-1 for gamma=-1.47 (-2). Similarly, we set limits on the normalization constant of the high-energy neutrino emission of 0.4 (6.1) TeV^-1 m^-2 s^-1 for gamma=-1.47 (-2).Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure

Two-kaon correlations in central Pb + Pb collisions at 158 A GeV/c

Two-particle interferometry of positive kaons is studied in Pb + Pb collisions at mean transverse momenta $\approx 0.25$ and 0.91 GeV/c. A three-dimensional analysis was applied to the lower $p_T$ data, while a two-dimensional analysis was used for the higher $p_T$ data. We find that the source size parameters are consistent with the $m_T$ scaling curve observed in pion correlation measurements in the same collisions, and that the duration time of kaon emission is consistent with zero within the experimental sensitivity.Comment: 4 pages incl. 1 table and 3 fig's; RevTeX; accepted for publication in PR