Charmonium interactions with hadronic matter

Thesis/Dissertation · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5820659

Vogt, R L

High-density matter is produced in ultra relativistic nuclear collisions. Depending on the initial energy density, the dense matter can be either a hadron gas or a quark-gluon plasma. Since the system is short-lived, final-state particles which have interacted with other produced particles must be used to deduce its original state. Probes must be found that carry information about the initial conditions and escape without losing it through multiple collisions. This thesis focuses on a promising probe of the dense system-J/{psi} production. The author attempts to ascertain if the J/{psi} is a useful signature of quark-gluon plasma formation. First, he examines the behavior of the charmonium mass spectrum and the D{bar D} threshold, searching for a signature of finite temperature effects through modification of the charmonium levels. He demonstrates that the {psi} mass crosses the D{bar D} threshold but there is no simple observational signature of this level crossing. Next, we examine the suggestion that J/{psi} production would be suppressed by quark-gluon plasma formation. Partial suppression was observed in 200-GeV/nucleon collisions at CERN shortly afterward. Quark-gluon plasma models of J/{psi} suppression explain the systematics of the data. Before we can assert that a plasma has been formed, other suppression mechanisms must be understood. He suggests that J/{psi} suppression can be achieved by final-state J/{psi} interactions with a comoving hadron gas. We formulate a model including the inelastic and quasi-elastic scattering of c{bar c} resonances on pions and rho mesons in the gas. This mechanism gives an overall suppression compatible with the CERN data. However the transverse momentum dependence of the suppression is weak.

• Research Organization: State Univ. of New York, Stony Brook, NY (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5820659
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

645204 -- High Energy Physics-- Particle Interactions & Properties-Theoretical-- Strong Interactions & Properties
653002* -- Nuclear Theory-- Nuclear Matter
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
BARYON-BARYON INTERACTIONS
BOSONS
CHARMONIUM
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ENERGY RANGE
GEV RANGE
HADRON REACTIONS
HADRON-HADRON INTERACTIONS
HADRONS
INELASTIC SCATTERING
INTERACTIONS
J PSI-3097 MESONS
MASS SPECTRA
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MATTER
MESONS
NUCLEAR MATTER
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEON-NUCLEON INTERACTIONS
PARTICLE INTERACTIONS
PARTICLE PRODUCTION
PIONS
PROBES
PSEUDOSCALAR MESONS
QUARK MATTER
QUARKONIUM
RELATIVISTIC RANGE
SCATTERING
SPECTRA
VECTOR MESONS