Strangelet search and antinuclei production studies in Pb + Pb collisions

✍ Scribed by G. Ambrosini; G. Appelquist; R. Arsenescu; C. Baglin; J. Beringer; C. Bohm; K. Borer; A. Bussière; F. Dittus; K. Elsener; D. Frei; Ph. Gorodetzky; J.P. Guillaud; P. Hess; E. Hugentobler; S. Kabana; R. Klingenberg; T. Lindén; K.D. Lohmann; R. Mommsen; U. Moser; T. Pal; K. Pretzl; J. Schacher; B. Selldén; F. Stoffel; J. Tuominiemi; M. Weber; Q.P. Zhang

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 445 KB
• Volume: 610
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0375-9474
• DOI: 10.1016/s0375-9474(96)00365-x

✦ Synopsis

We searched for long-lived strange quark matter particles, so-called strangelets, and studied particle and antiparticle production in Pb + Pb collisions at 158 GeV/e per nucleon at zero degree production angle. We give upper limits for the production of strangelets covering a mass to charge ratio up to 120 GeV/c 2 and lifetimes tlab > 1.2#s and plot invariant differential production cross sections as a function of rapidity for a variety of particles.

1. iNTRODUCTION

In order to study nuclear matter under extreme conditions (high temperatures and/or high densities) ultra-relativistic heavy ion beams have been made available at CERN and BNL. The study of particle and antiparticle production in such heavy ion collisions gives insight into the collision dynamics and space time evolution of the reactions [1-3]. There is hope that in these collisions a new phase of hadronic matter, the so-called quark-gluon plasma (QGP), cast be formed. The production of strange quark matter, strangelets [4-7], is regarded as a possible signature for the formation of a QGP. Strangelets