Traces of Thermalization at RHIC

I argue that measurements of Au+Au collisions at 20, 130 and 200 GeV of the centrality dependence of the mean p_t together with p_t and net-charge fluctuations reflect the approach to local thermal equilibrium.Comment: 4 pages, 4 eps figures, for proc. Quark Matter 2004, to be published in J. Phys.

Resonances and fluctuations at SPS and RHIC

We perform an analysis of preliminary data on hadron yields and fluctuations within the Statistical hadronization ansatz. We describe the theoretical disagreements between different statistical models currently on the market, and show how the simultaneous analysis of yields and fluctuations can be used to determine if one of them can be connected to underlying physics. We perform such an analysis on preliminary RHIC and SPS A-A data that includes particle yields, ratios and event by event fluctuations. We show that the equilibrium statistical model can not describe the $K/\pi$ fluctuation measured at RHIC and SPS, unless an unrealistically small volume is assumed. Such small volume then makes it impossible to describe the total particle multiplicity. The non-equilibrium model,on the other hand, describes both the $K/\pi$ fluctuation and yields acceptably due to the extra boost to the $\pi$ fluctuation provided by the high pion chemical potential. We show, however, that both models significantly over-estimate the $p/\pi$ fluctuation measured at the SPS, and speculate for the reason behind this.Comment: Presented at Hot Quarks, 2006 In press, European Physical Journal

An Overview of Fluctuation and Correlation Results in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions

A great deal of recent data on event-by-event fluctuation and correlation measurements has been released by several experiments at the SPS and RHIC. Recent results on charge fluctuations, balance functions in pseudorapidity, and average transverse momentum fluctuations will be reviewed. The results will be compared to various model predictions after examining contributions to each observable from known physics processes.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures. Contribution to the Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Ultra Relativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (Quark Matter 2004), Oakland, California, 11-17 Jan 2004. Submitted to J.Phys.

Covariance of Antiproton Yield and Source Size in Nuclear Collisions

We confront for the first time the widely-held belief that combined event-by-event information from quark gluon plasma signals can reduce the ambiguity of the individual signals. We illustrate specifically how the measured antiproton yield combined with the information from pion-pion HBT correlations can be used to identify novel event classes.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, improved title, references and readability; results unchange

Mach Cones in Quark Gluon Plasma

The experimental azimuthal dihadron distributions at RHIC show a double peak structure in the away side ($\Delta \phi = \pi \pm 1.2$ rad.) for intermediate $p_t$ particles. A variety of models have appeared trying to describe this modification. We will review most of them, with special emphasis in the Conical Flow scenario in which the observed shape is a consequence of the emission of sound by a supersonic high momentum particle propagating in the Quark Gluon Plasma.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, Invited plenary talk given at the 19th International Conference on Ultrarelativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions: Quark Matter 2006 (QM 2006), Shanghai, China, 14-20 Nov 200

Antiproton Production in 11.5 A GeV/c Au+Pb Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions

We present the first results from the E864 collaboration on the production of antiprotons in 10% central 11.5 A GeV/c Au+Pb nucleus collisions at the Brookhaven AGS. We report invariant multiplicities for antiproton production in the kinematic region 1.4<y<2.2 and 50<p_T<300 MeV/c, and compare our data with a first collision scaling model and previously published results from the E878 collaboration. The differences between the E864 and E878 antiproton measurements and the implications for antihyperon production are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

Measurement of Pion Enhancement at Low Transverse Momentum and of the Delta-Resonance Abundance in Si-Nucleus Collisions at AGS Energy

We present measurements of the pion transverse momentum (p_t) spectra in central Si-nucleus collisions in the rapidity range 2.0<y<5.0 for p_t down to and including p_t=0. The data exhibit an enhanced pion yield at low p_t compared to what is expected for a purely thermal spectral shape. This enhancement is used to determine the Delta-resonance abundance at freeze-out. The results are consistent with a direct measurement of the Delta-resonance yield by reconstruction of proton-pion pairs and imply a temperature of the system at freeze-out close to 140 MeV.Comment: 12 pages + 4 figures (uuencoded at end-of-file