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Kaon production in Au+Au collisions at 11.6A GeV/c

Journal Article · · Physical Review, C
OSTI ID:670252
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  1. Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973 (United States)
  2. University of California, Space Sciences Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)
  3. University of California, Riverside, California 92507 (United States)
  4. High Energy Accel. Res. Organization (KEK), Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305 (Japan)
  5. High Energy Accel. Res. Organization (KEK), Tanashi-branch, (Tanashi) Tokyo 188 (Japan)
  6. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)
  7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)
  8. Department of Physics, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113 (Japan)
  9. University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305 (Japan)
  10. Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749 (Korea)
  11. University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States)
  12. Center for Nuclear Study, School of Science, University of Tokyo, Tanashi, Tokyo 188 (Japan)
  13. Columbia University, New York 10027 and Nevis Laboratories, Irvington, New York 10533 (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
A systematic study of the spectra and yields of K{sup +} and K{sup {minus}} is reported by experiment E866 as a function of centrality in Au+Au collisions at 11.6A GeV/c. The invariant transverse spectra for both kaon species are well described by exponentials in m{sub t}, with inverse slope parameters that are largest at midrapidity and which increase with centrality. The inverse slopes of the K{sup +} spectra are slightly larger than the inverse slopes of the K{sup {minus}} spectra. The kaon rapidity density peaks at midrapidity with the K{sup +} distribution wider in rapidity than K{sup {minus}}. The integrated total yields of K{sup +} and K{sup {minus}} increase nonlinearly and steadily with the number of projectile participants. The yield per participant for kaons is two to three times larger than the yield from N-N collisions. This enhancement suggests that the majority of kaons in central Au+Au reactions are produced in secondary hadronic collisions. There is no evidence for an onset of additional kaon production from a possible small volume of baryon-rich quark-gluon plasma. The differences between K{sup +} and K{sup {minus}} rapidity distributions and transverse spectra are consistent with a lower phase space for K{sup {minus}} production due to a higher energy threshold. These differences also exclude simple thermal models that assume emission from a common equilibrated system. {copyright} {ital 1998} {ital The American Physical Society}
OSTI ID:
670252
Journal Information:
Physical Review, C, Journal Name: Physical Review, C Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 58; ISSN 0556-2813; ISSN PRVCAN
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

66 PHYSICS
DIRECT REACTIONS
GOLD
KAONS MINUS
KAONS PLUS
NUCLEAR REACTION YIELD
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
PARTICLE PRODUCTION
QUARK MODEL