Fluctuations of Strangeness and Deconfinement Phase Transition in Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions

We suggest that the fluctuations of strange hadron multiplicity could be sensitive to the equation of state and microscopic structure of strongly interacting matter created at the early stage of high energy nucleus-nucleus collisions. They may serve as an important tool in the study of the deconfinement phase transition. We predict, within the statistical model of the early stage, that the ratio of properly filtered fluctuations of strange to non-strange hadron multiplicities should have a non-monotonic energy dependence with a minimum in the mixed phase region.Comment: revised version to be published in Phys. Lett.

Comment on ``Strangeness enhancement in p+Ap+A and S+A+A interactions at energies near 200 AA GeV"

We argue that the recent analysis of strangeness production in nuclear collisions at 200 $A$ GeV/$c$ performed by Topor Pop {\it et al.} \cite{To:95} is flawed. The conclusions are based on an erroneous interpretation of the data and the numerical model results. The term ``strangeness enhancement" is used in a misleading way.Comment: 4 pages REVTEX 3.0, no figures; Comment submitted to Physical Review

Measures of Charge Fluctuations in Nuclear Collisions

The properties of two measures of charge fluctuations D and Delta Phi_q are discussed within several toy models of nuclear collisions. In particular their dependence on mean particle multiplicity, multiplicity fluctuations and net electric charge are studied. It is shown that the measure Delta Phi_q is less sensitive to these trivial biasing effects than the originally proposed measure D. Furthermore the influence of resonance decay kinematics is analysed and it is shown that it is likely to shadow a possible reduction of fluctuations due to QGP creation.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure

Transverse momentum versus multiplicity fluctuations in high-energy nuclear collisions

We discuss recently measured event-by-event fluctuations of transverse momentum and of multiplicity in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. It is shown that the non-monotonic behavior of the p_T-fluctuations as a function of collision centrality can be fully explained by the observed non-monotonic multiplicity fluctuations. A possible mechanism responsible for the multiplicity fluctuations is also considered.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, revised & extended, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Fluctuations and Deconfinement Phase Transition in Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions

We propose a method to experimentally study the equation of state of strongly interacting matter created at the early stage of nucleus--nucleus collisions. The method exploits the relation between relative entropy and energy fluctuations and equation of state. As a measurable quantity, the ratio of properly filtered multiplicity to energy fluctuations is proposed. Within a statistical approach to the early stage of nucleus-nucleus collisions, the fluctuation ratio manifests a non--monotonic collision energy dependence with a maximum in the domain where the onset of deconfinement occurs.Comment: revised version to be published in Phys. Lett.

Review of Results from the NA49 Collaboration

New results of the NA49 collaboration on strange particle production are presented. Rapidity and transverse mass spectra as well as total multiplicities are discussed. The study of their evolution from AGS over SPS to the highest RHIC energy reveals a couple of interesting features. These include a sudden change in the energy dependence of the mt-spectra and of the yields of strange hadrons around 30 AGeV. Both are found to be difficult to be reproduced in a hadronic scenario, but might be an indication for a phase transition to a quark gluon plasma.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. Proceedings of the SQM04 conference, Capetow

Transverse Momentum Spectra of J/ψJ/\psi and ψ′\psi^{\prime} Mesons from Quark Gluon Plasma Hadronization in Nuclear Collisions

Recent results on transverse mass spectra of $J/\psi$ and $\psi^{\prime}$ mesons in central Pb+Pb collisions at 158 A$\cdot$GeV are considered. It is shown that those results support a hypothesis of statistical production of charmonia at hadronization and suggest the early thermal freeze--out of $J/\psi$ and $\psi^{\prime}$ mesons. Based on this approach the collective transverse velocity of hadronizing quark gluon plasma is estimated to be $\approx 0.2$. Predictions for transverse mass spectra of hidden and open charm mesons at SPS and RHIC are discussed.Comment: Four pages, one figur

Multiplicity fluctuations in relativistic nuclear collisions: statistical model versus experimental data

The multiplicity distributions of hadrons produced in central nucleus-nucleus collisions are studied within the hadron-resonance gas model in the large volume limit. The microscopic correlator method is used to enforce conservation of three charges - baryon number, electric charge, and strangeness - in the canonical ensemble. In addition, in the micro-canonical ensemble energy conservation is included. An analytical method is used to account for resonance decays. The multiplicity distributions and the scaled variances for negatively, positively, and all charged hadrons are calculated along the chemical freeze-out line of central Pb+Pb (Au+Au) collisions from SIS to LHC energies. Predictions obtained within different statistical ensembles are compared with the preliminary NA49 experimental results on central Pb+Pb collisions in the SPS energy range. The measured fluctuations are significantly narrower than the Poisson ones and clearly favor expectations for the micro-canonical ensemble. Thus this is a first observation of the recently predicted suppression of the multiplicity fluctuations in relativistic gases in the thermodynamical limit due to conservation laws.Comment: 27 pages, 9 figures, corrected reference

Particle Number Fluctuations in Canonical Ensemble

Fluctuations of charged particle number are studied in the canonical ensemble. In the infinite volume limit the fluctuations in the canonical ensemble are different from the fluctuations in the grand canonical one. Thus, the well-known equivalence of both ensembles for the average quantities does not extend for the fluctuations. In view of a possible relevance of the results for the analysis of fluctuations in nuclear collisions at high energies, a role of the limited kinematical acceptance is studied.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, LaTe