Anisotropic flow of strange particles at RHIC

Space-time picture of the anisotropic flow evolution in Au+Au collisions at BNL RHIC is studied for strange hadrons within the microscopic quark-gluon string model. The directed flow of both mesons and hyperons demonstrates wiggle structure with the universal antiflow slope at |y| < 2 for minimum bias events. This effect increases as the reaction becomes more peripheral. The development of both components of the anisotropic flow is closely related to particle freeze-out. Hadrons are emitted continuously, and different hadronic species are decoupled from the system at different times. These hadrons contribute differently to the formation and evolution of the elliptic flow, which can be decomposed onto three components: (i) flow created by hadrons emitted from the surface at the onset of the collision; (ii) flow produced by jets; (iii) hydrodynamic flow. Due to these features, the general trend in elliptic flow formation is that the earlier mesons are frozen, the weaker their elliptic flow. In contrast, baryons frozen at the end of the system evolution have stronger v2.Comment: proceedings of the conference SQM2004 (September 2004, Cape Town, South Africa

Directed flow in heavy-ion collisions at NICA: what is interesting to measure?

We study the formation of the directed flow of hadrons in nuclear collisions at energies between AGS and SPS in Monte Carlo cascade model. The slope of the proton flow at midrapidity tends to zero (softening) with increasing impact parameter of the collision. For very peripheral topologies this slope becomes negative (antiflow). The effect is caused by rescattering of hadrons in remnants of the colliding nuclei. Since the softening of the proton flow can be misinterpreted as indication of the presence of quark-gluon plasma, we propose several measurements at NICA facility which can help one to distinguish between the cases with and without the plasma formation.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, Contribution to the NICA White Paper (EPJA, topical issue

Violation of energy-per-hadron scaling in a resonance matter

Yields of hadrons, their average masses and energies per hadron at the stage of chemical freeze-out in (ultra)relativistic heavy-ion collisions are analyzed within the statistical model. The violation of the scaling / = 1 GeV observed in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 130 AGeV is linked to the formation of resonance-rich matter with a considerable fraction of baryons and antibaryons. The rise of the energy-per-hadron ratio in baryon-dominated matter is discussed. A violation of the scaling condition is predicted for a very central zone of heavy-ion collisions at energies around 40 AGeV.Comment: 5 pages incl. 3 figures and 2 tables, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Microscopic description of anisotropic flow in relativistic heavy ion collisions

Anisotropic flow of hadrons is studied in heavy ion collisions at SPS and RHIC energies within the microscopic quark-gluon string model. The model was found to reproduce correctly many of the flow features, e.g., the wiggle structure of direct flow of nucleons at midrapidity, or centrality, rapidity, and transverse momentum dependences of elliptic flow. Further predictions are made. The differences in the development of the anisotropic flow components are linked to the freeze-out conditions, which are quite different for baryons and mesons.Comment: Proceedings of the Erice School on Nuclear Physics (Erice, Italy, September 16-24, 2003

Transition to resonance-rich matter in heavy ion collisions at RHIC energies

The equilibration of hot and dense nuclear matter produced in the central region in central Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200$ AGeV is studied within the microscopic transport model UrQMD. The pressure here becomes isotropic at $t \approx 5$ fm/c. Within the next 15 fm/c the expansion of the matter proceeds almost isentropically with the entropy per baryon ratio $S/A \approx 150$. During this period the equation of state in the $(P,\epsilon)$-plane has a very simple form, $P=0.15 \epsilon$. Comparison with the statistical model (SM) of an ideal hadron gas reveals that the time of $\approx 20$ fm/$c$ may be too short to attain the fully equilibrated state. Particularly, the fractions of resonances are overpopulated in contrast to the SM values. The creation of such a long-lived resonance-rich state slows down the relaxation to chemical equilibrium and can be detected experimentally.Comment: Talk at the conference Strangeness'2000, to be published in J. of Phys.

Gluon shadowing in the Glauber-Gribov model at HERA

We calculate shadowing using new data on the gluon density of the Pomeron recently measured with high precision at HERA. The calculations are made in a Glauber-Gribov framework and Pomeron tree-diagrams are summed up within a unitarity-conserving procedure. The total cross section of \vphot A interaction is then found in a parameter-free description, employing gluon diffractive and inclusive distribution functions as input. A strong shadowing effect is obtained, in good agreement with several other models. Impact parameter dependence of gluon shadowing is also presented.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures; references added, discussion of model enlarged, calculation of low-x contribution corrected; to appear in Phys. Let

Supercooling of rapidly expanding quark-gluon plasma

We reexamine the scenario of homogeneous nucleation of the quark-gluon plasma produced in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions. A generalization of the standard nucleation theory to rapidly expanding system is proposed. The nucleation rate is derived via the new scaling parameter $\lambda_Z$. It is shown that the size distribution of hadronic clusters plays an important role in the dynamics of the phase transition. The longitudinally expanding system is supercooled to about 3-6%, then it is reheated, and the hadronization is completed within 6-10 fm/c, i.e. 5-10 times faster than it was estimated earlier, in a strongly nonequilibrium way.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX, 3 eps figure

Strangeness production in heavy ion collisions at SPS and RHIC within two-source statistical model

The experimental data on hadron yields and ratios in central Pb+Pb and Au+Au collisions at SPS and RHIC energies, respectively, are analysed within a two-source statistical model of an ideal hadron gas. These two sources represent the expanding system of colliding heavy ions, where the hot central fireball is embedded in a larger but cooler fireball. The volume of the central source increases with rising bombarding energy. Results of the two-source model fit to RHIC experimental data at midrapidity coincide with the results of the one-source thermal model fit, indicating the formation of an extended fireball, which is three times larger than the corresponding core at SPS.Comment: Talk at "Strange Quarks in Matter" Conference (Strangeness'2001), September 2001, Frankfurt a.M., German