Nucleon number dependence of the onset of anomalous J/psi suppression and the dynamics of nuclear collisions

We point out that data on the onset of anomalous J/psi suppression as a function of nucleon numbers A and B could provide information on the dynamics of nuclear interactions. In particular the models of anomalous J/psi suppression by Blaizot and Ollitrault (BO) and by Kharzeev, Lourenco, Nardi and Satz (KLNS) are based on different assumptions on the dynamics of nuclear collisions and lead to different predictions of the dependence of the onset of anomalous J/psi suppression on nucleon numbers of colliding nuclei. The data on this onset as function of A and B could become a tool for the study of the dynamics of nuclear collisions and bring further evidence on J/psi suppression by new form of hadronic matter, possibly Quark-Gluon Plasma. In particular we propose to study J/\psi suppression in A+Pb interaction with nucleon number of A between 58 and 73 or a bit higher.Comment: 10 pages, 5 Figure

Enhanced J/psi suppression due to gluon depletion

The nonlinear effect of gluon depletion in the collision of large nuclei can be large. It is due to multiple scatterings among comoving partons initiated by primary scattering of partons in the colliding nuclei. The effect can give rise to substantial suppression of $J/\psi$ production in very large nuclei, even if the linear depletion effect is insignificant for the collisions of nuclei of smaller sizes. This mechanism offers a natural explanation of the enhanced suppression in the Pb-Pb data recently observed by NA50.Comment: 6 pages + 2 figures (in ps file), LaTex, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let