Baryon number conservation and the cumulants of the net proton distribution

We discuss the modification of the cumulants of the net baryon and net proton distributions due to the global conservation of baryon number in heavy-ion collisions. Corresponding probability distributions and their cumulants are derived analytically. We show that the conservation of baryon number results in a substantial decrease of higher order cumulants. Based on our studies, we propose an observable that is insensitive to the modifications due to baryon number conservation.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Production of Dileptons in Heavy Ion Collisions at SPS-Energies

In this contribution we will discuss the production of low mass dileptons in SPS-energy heavy ion collisions. We briefly review the current theoretical situation before we turn to the analysis of the recent data for Pb+Au. We also will discuss the role of baryons as a source for dileptons.Comment: Proceedings, XXXVII Winter Workshop, Bormio, Italy, Jan. 1999 8 pages, 6 figures, epsf styl

Event-by-event fluctuations in heavy ion collisions

We discuss the physics underlying event-by-event fluctuations in relativistic heavy ion collisions. We will argue that the fluctuations of the ratio of positively over negatively charged particles may serve as a unique signature for the Quark Gluon Plasma.Comment: Contribution to the Proceedings of the International Workshop XXX on Gross Properties of Nuclei and Nuclear Excitations, Hirschegg, Jan. 2002 and to the Proceedings of the Krakow Epiphany Conference, Krakow, Jan. 200

Equilibrium in Heavy Ion Collisions

We discuss the question of equilibriation in heavy ion collisions and how it can be addressed in experimentComment: Proceedings 19th Winter Workshop on Nuclear Dynamics, Breckenridge, Co, 200

Dileptons from transport and hydrodynamical models

Transport and hydrodynamical models used to describe the expansion stage of a heavy-ion collision at the CERN SPS give different dilepton spectrum even if they are tuned to reproduce the observed hadron spectra. To understand the origin of this difference we compare the dilepton emission from transport and hydrodynamical models using similar initial states in both models. We find that the requirement of pion number conservation in a hydrodynamical model does not change the dilepton emission. Also the mass distribution from the transport model indicates faster cooling and longer lifetime of the fireball.Comment: 5 pages, 2 Postscript figures, contribution to the `International Workshop XXVIII on Gross Properties of Nuclei and Nuclear Excitations', Hirschegg, Austria, January 16-22 200

Baryon number and strangeness: signals of a deconfined antecedent

The correlation between baryon number and strangeness is used to discern the nature of the deconfined matter produced at vanishing chemical potential in high-energy nuclear collisions at the BNL RHIC. Comparisons of results of various phenomenological models with correlations extracted from lattice QCD calculations suggest that a quasi-particle picture applies. At finite baryon densities, such as those encountered at the CERN SPS, it is demonstrated that the presence of a first-order phase transition and the accompanying development of spinodal decomposition would significantly enhance the number of strangeness carriers and the associated fluctuations.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, latex, to appear in the proceedings of the Workshop on Correlations and Fluctuations in Relativistic Nuclear collisions, (MIT, April 21-23,2005

Event-by-event fluctuations and the QGP

We discuss the physics underlying event-by-event fluctuations in relativistic heavy ion collisions. We will emphasize how the fluctuations of particle ratios can be utilized to explore the properties of the matter created in these collisions. In particular, we will argue that the fluctutions of the ratio of positively over negatively charged particles may serve as a unique signature for the Quark Gluon Plasma.Comment: Proceedings Quark Matter 2001, Stony Brook, NY January 200