Experimental signatures of phase transition to quark matter in high-energy collisions of nuclei

Journal Article · Thu Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1982 · Phys. Rev. D; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.25.1842· OSTI ID:5499679

Halzen, F; Liu, H C

Colliding high-energy heavy nuclei is the only known way to experimentally study the phase transition from nucleonic to quark matter. Observations are, however, frustrated by the fact that secondary ..pi.. mesons are formed in the later stages of the interaction and are therefore insensitive to the early stages when quark matter is formed. We speculate on two types of experimental signatures of phase transition to quark matter. (i) The structure in the rapidity distribution of the secondaries from a near central collision of two heavy neuclei. We estimate that the reduction in shear viscosity between the colored-quark-gluon plasma and the peripheral spectator part of each nucleus leads to an observable separation in rapidity of the secondaries from each component. (ii) Abundant production of prompt photons with n/sub ..gamma..//n/sub ..pi../ approx. =30% for central collisions with about 50 GeV energy per nucleon.

• Research Organization: Physics Department, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
• OSTI ID: 5499679
• Journal Information: Phys. Rev. D; (United States), Journal Name: Phys. Rev. D; (United States) Vol. 25:7; ISSN PRVDA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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653003 -- Nuclear Theory-- Nuclear Reactions & Scattering
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
BOSONS
CHARGED-PARTICLE REACTIONS
COMPOSITE MODELS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
GLUONS
HADRONS
HEAVY ION REACTIONS
MASSLESS PARTICLES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MATTER
MESONS
NUCLEAR MATTER
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
PARTICLE MODELS
PARTICLE PRODUCTION
PARTICLE PROPERTIES
PARTICLE RAPIDITY
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PHOTONS
PIONS
POSTULATED PARTICLES
PSEUDOSCALAR MESONS
QUARK MODEL