Strangeness production in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. I. Chemical kinetics in the quark-gluon plasma

Journal Article · Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1986 · Phys. Rev. D; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.34.783· OSTI ID:5521166

Matsui, T; Svetitsky, B; McLerran, L D

We develop a kinetic theory of chemical reactions in a quark-gluon plasma in order to study the evolution of flavor composition in ultrarelativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions. The rates of production and annihilation of strange-quark pairs are computed in lowest order in perturbation theory assuming local equilibrium with respect to other, more frequent collision processes. Quantum-statistical effects are taken into account. The hydrodynamic equations coupled to the rate equation are derived and solved numerically in a homogeneous plasma, simulating the approach toward complete chemical equilibrium. The corresponding relaxation times are computed.

• Research Organization: Center for Theoretical Physics, Laboratory for Nuclear Science and Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
• OSTI ID: 5521166
• Journal Information: Phys. Rev. D; (United States), Vol. 34:3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
HEAVY ION REACTIONS
PARTICLE PRODUCTION
QUARK MATTER
CHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
QUARKS
PAIR PRODUCTION
STRANGE PARTICLES
ANNIHILATION
DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS
ENTROPY
FLAVOR MODEL
GLUONS
HYDRODYNAMIC MODEL
PERTURBATION THEORY
PHASE SPACE
QUANTUM CHROMODYNAMICS
RELATIVISTIC RANGE
BASIC INTERACTIONS
CHARGED-PARTICLE REACTIONS
COMPOSITE MODELS
ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERACTIONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ENERGY RANGE
FIELD THEORIES
FUNCTIONS
INTERACTIONS
KINETICS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MATHEMATICAL SPACE
MATTER
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
PARTICLE MODELS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
POSTULATED PARTICLES
QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
QUARK MODEL
REACTION KINETICS
SPACE
STATISTICAL MODELS
THERMODYNAMIC MODEL
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
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