The phases of strongly interacting matter in heavy ion collisions

In ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions the produced high temperature, high energy density state will cross different phases of the strongly interacting matter. The original idea of quark-gluon plasma formation has been evolved and the weakly interacting gaseous state of massless partons has been replaced by the picture of strongly interacting massive constituent quarks. Experimental results at SPS and RHIC supports this idea. We discuss the phases at LHC energies.Comment: Presented at International Symposium on Exotic Nuclear Systems (ENS'05), Debrecen, Hungary, 20-25 Jun 200

Energy dependence of transverse quark flow in heavy ion collisions

Energy dependence of quark transverse flow carries information about dynamical properties (equation of state, initial conditions) of deconfined matter produced in heavy ion collisions. We assume quark-antiquark matter formation in Pb+Pb collisions at CERN SPS and Au+Au collisions at RHIC energies and determine quark transverse flow at the critical temperature of the quark-hadron phase transition. Coalescence of massive quarks is calculated in the MICOR hadronization model and hadronic final state effects are considered using the GROMIT cascade program. Comparing theoretical results to data, transverse flow values are determined and energy dependence is discussed.Comment: Presented at the International Workshop on Hot and Dense Matter in Ultrarelativistic Heavy Ion Collisions (BP2004). Submitted to APH Heavy Ion Physics. 10 pages, 6 figure

Enhanced heavy quark-pair production in strong SU(2) color field

Non-perturbative charm and bottom quark-pair production is investigated in the early stage of heavy ion collisions. Following our earlier works, the time-dependent study is based on a kinetic description of fermion-pair production in strong non-Abelian fields. We introduce time-dependent chromo-electric external field with a pulse-like time evolution, which simulates the overlap of two colliding heavy ions. The calculations is performed in a SU(2) color model with finite current quark masses. Yields of heavy quark-pairs are compared to the ones of light and strange quark-pairs. We show that the small inverse duration time of the field pulse determines the efficiency of the quark-pair production. Thus we do not see the expected suppression for heavy quark production, as follows from the Schwinger formula for constant field, but rather an enhanced heavy quark production at ultrarelativistic energies. We convert pulse duration time-dependent results into collisional energy dependence and introduce flavour-dependent energy string tensions, which can be used in string based model calculations at RHIC and LHC energies.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure

Strangeness Production in Chemically Non-Equilibrated Parton Plasma

Strangeness production was investigated during the equilibration of a gluon dominated parton plasma produced at RHIC and LHC energies. The time evolution of parton densities are followed by a set of rate equations in a 1-dimensional expanding system. The strangeness production will depend on the initial chemical equilibration level and in our case the parton densities will remain far from the full equilibrium. We investigate the influence of gluon fragmentation on final strangeness content.Comment: 12 pages (LaTeX) + 2 postscript figures (tarred, compressed, uuencoded) included. Review to appear in Proceedings of Strangeness'95, Tucson, Arizona, Jan. 4--6 1995. (American Institute of Physics