Relativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions: from the BEVALAC to RHIC

I briefly describe the initial goals of relativistic nuclear collisions research, focusing on the LBL Bevatron/Bevalac facility in the 1970's. An early concept of high hadronic density fireball formation, and subsequent isentropic decay (preserving information as to the high density stage) led to an outline of physics observables that could determine the nuclear matter equation of state at several times nuclear ground state matter density. With the advent of QCD the goal of locating, and characterizing the hadron-parton deconfinement phase transformation suggested the need for higher $\sqrt{s}$, the research thus moving to the BNL AGS and CERN SPS, finally to RHIC at BNL. A set of physics observables is discussed where present data span the entire $\sqrt{s}$ domain, from Bevalac and SIS at GSI, to top RHIC energy. Referring, selectively, to data concerning bulk hadron production, the overall $\sqrt{s}$ evolution of directed and radial flow observables, and of pion pair Bose-Einstein correlation are discussed. The hadronization process is studied in the grand canonical statistical model. The resulting hadronization points in the plane T vs. $\mu_B$ converge onto the parton-hadron phase boundary predicted by finite $\mu_B$ lattice QCD, from top SPS to RHIC energy. At lower SPS and top AGS energy a steep strangeness maximum occurs at which the Wroblewski parameter $\lambda_s \approx$ 0.6; a possible connection to the QCD critical point is discussed. Finally the unique new RHIC physics is addressed: high $p_T$ hadron suppression and jet "tomography".Comment: 19 pages, 11 figure

Transport model analysis of the transverse momentum and rapidity dependence of pion interferometry at SPS energies

Based on the UrQMD transport model, the transverse momentum and the rapidity dependence of the Hanbury-Brown-Twiss (HBT) radii $R_L$, $R_O$, $R_S$ as well as the cross term $R_{OL}$ at SPS energies are investigated and compared with the experimental NA49 and CERES data. The rapidity dependence of the $R_L$, $R_O$, $R_S$ is weak while the $R_{OL}$ is significantly increased at large rapidities and small transverse momenta. The HBT "life-time" issue (the phenomenon that the calculated $\sqrt{R_O^{2}-R_S^{2}}$ value is larger than the correspondingly extracted experimental data) is also present at SPS energies.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figure

Review of HBT or Bose-Einstein correlations in high energy heavy ion collisions

A brief review is given on the discovery and the first five decades of the Hanbury Brown - Twiss effect and its generalized applications in high energy nuclear and particle physics, that includes a meta-review. Interesting and inspiring new directions are also highlighted, including for example source imaging, lepton and photon interferometry, non-Gaussian shape analysis as well as many other new directions. Existing models are compared to two-particle correlation measurements and the so-called RHIC HBT puzzle is resolved. Evidence for a (directional) Hubble flow is presented and the conclusion is confirmed by a successful description of the pseudorapidity dependence of the elliptic flow as measured in Au+Au collisions by the PHOBOS Collaboration.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure, 8 sub-figures, invited plenary talk at the ICPA-QGP 2005 conference in Kolkata, Indi

Strangeness from 20 AGeV to 158 AGeV

New results from the energy scan programme of NA49, in particular kaon production at 30 AGeV and phi production at 40 and 80 AGeV are presented. The K+/pi+ ratio shows a pronounced maximum at 30 AGeV; the kaon slope parameters are constant at SPS energies. Both findings support the scenario of a phase transition at about 30 AGeV beam energy. The phi/pi ratio increases smoothly with beam energy, showing an energy dependence similar to K-/pi-. The measured particle yields can be reproduced by a hadron gas model, with chemical freeze-out parameters on a smooth curve in the T-muB plane. The transverse spectra can be understood as resulting from a rapidly expanding, locally equilibrated source. No evidence for an earlier kinetic decoupling of heavy hyperons is found.Comment: Contribution to the proceedings of "Strangeness in Quark Matter 2003" (March 2003, Atlantic Beach NC, USA), to be published in Journal of Physics G. 11 pages, 14 figure

Omega(-) and (Omega)over-bar(+) production in central Pb+Pb collisions at 40 and 158A GeV

Results are presented on Omega production in central Pb+Pb collisions at 40 and 158A GeV beam energy. For the first time in heavy ion reactions, rapidity distributions and total yields were measured for the sum Omega(-)+(Omega) over bar (+) at 40A GeV and for Omega(-) and (Omega) over bar (+) separately at 158A GeV. The yields are strongly underpredicted by the string-hadronic UrQMD model but agree better with predictions from hadron gas models

System size and centrality dependence of the balance function in A+A collisions at root S-NN=17.2 GeV

Electric charge correlations were studied for p+p, C+C, Si+Si, and centrality selected Pb+Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 17.2 GeV with the NA49 large acceptance detector at the CERN SPS. In particular, long-range pseudorapidity correlations of oppositely charged particles were measured using the balance function method. The width of the balance function decreases with increasing system size and centrality of the reactions. This decrease could be related to an increasing delay of hadronization in central Pb+Pb collisions

Pion and kaon production in central Pb plus Pb collisions at 20A and 30A GeV: Evidence for the onset of deconfinement

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. Around 30A GeV a rapid change of the energy dependence for the yields of pions and kaons as well as for the shape of the transverse mass spectra is observed. 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 CERN Super Proton Synchroton energies

High transverse momentum hadron spectra at root s(NN)=17.3 GeV in Pb+Pb and p+p collisions

Transverse momentum spectra up to 4.5 GeV/c around midrapidity of pi(+/-), p, (p) over bar, and K-+/- in Pb+Pb reactions were measured at root s(NN) = 17.3 GeV by the CERN-NA49 experiment. The nuclear modification factors R-AA for pi(+/-) and R-CP for pi(+/-), p, (p) over bar, K-+/- were extracted and compared with results obtained at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at root s(NN) = 200 GeV. The modification factor R-AA shows a rapid increase with transverse momentum in the covered region. This indicates that the Cronin effect is the dominating effect in our energy range. The modification factor R-CP, in which the contribution of the Cronin effect is reduced, shows a saturation well below unity in the pi(+/-) channel. The extracted R-CP values follow the 200 GeV RHIC results closely in the available transverse momentum range, except for pi(+/-) above 2.5 GeV/c transverse momentum. There the measured suppression is smaller than that observed at RHIC

Elliptic flow of Lambda hyperons in Pb+Pb collisions at 158A GeV

The elliptic flow of Lambda hyperons has been measured by the NA49 Collaboration at the CERN-SPS in semicentral Pb+Pb collisions at 158A GeV. The standard method of correlating particles with the event plane was used. Measurements of v(2) near midrapidity are reported as a function of rapidity, centrality and transverse momentum. Elliptic flow of Lambda particles increases both with the impact parameter and with the transverse momentum. It is compared with v(2) for pions and protons as well as with model calculations. The observation of significant elliptic flow and its mass dependence suggest strong collective behavior of the matter produced in collisions of heavy nuclei already at the SPS. Scaling properties of elliptic flow of different particle species have been tested at 158A GeV. The limited p(T) range of the data does not allow for a decisive test of the coalescence model

Centrality and system size dependence of multiplicity fluctuations in nuclear collisions at 158A GeV

The centrality and system size dependence of multiplicity fluctuations of charged particles produced in nuclear collisions at 158A GeV was studied by the NA49 Collaboration. Centrality selected Pb+Pb collisions, semicentral C+C and Si+Si collisions as well as inelastic p+p interactions were analyzed. The number of projectile participants determined on an event-by-event basis was used to characterize the collision centrality. The scaled variance of the multiplicity distribution obtained in the forward rapidity region (1.1 < y(c.m.)< 2.6) shows a significant increase toward peripheral collisions. The results are similar for negatively and positively charged particles and about 50% larger for all charged particles. String-hadronic models of nuclear reactions without the fusion process do not reproduce the rise of fluctuations from central toward peripheral collisions. The measured centrality dependence can be reproduced in superposition models with the assumption of contributions from target participants to particle production in the forward hemisphere or in string models with fusion