System-size and centrality dependence of charged kaon and pion production in nucleus-nucleus collisions at 40A GeV and 158A GeV beam energy

(NA49 Collaboration) Anticic, T; Barnett, B; Blumenfeld, B ; Chien, Cy; Fisher, P; Gougas, A; Krizmanic, J; Madansky, L; Newman, D; Orndorff, J; Pevsner, A; Spangler, J. (2012) System-size and centrality dependence of charged kaon and pion production in nucleus-nucleus collisions at 40A GeV and 158A GeV beam energy. Physical Review C, 86 (5). 054903/1-054903/14. ISSN 0556-2813

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Official URL: http://journals.aps.org/prc/abstract/10.1103/PhysR...

Abstract

Measurements of charged pion and kaon production are presented in centrality selected Pb+Pb collisions at 40A GeV and 158A GeV beam energy as well as in semicentral C+C and Si+Si interactions at 40A GeV. Transverse mass spectra, rapidity spectra, and total yields are determined as a function of centrality. The system-size and centrality dependence of relative strangeness production in nucleus-nucleus collisions at 40A GeV and 158A GeV beam energy are derived from the data presented here and from published data for C+C and Si+Si collisions at 158A GeV beam energy. At both energies a steep increase with centrality is observed for small systems followed by a weak rise or even saturation for higher centralities. This behavior is compared to calculations using transport models (ultra-relativistic quantum molecular dynamics and hadron-string dynamics), a percolation model, and the core-corona approach.

Item Type:

Article

Uncontrolled Keywords:

heavy-ion collisions; strangeness production; particle-production; strings

Subjects:

NATURAL SCIENCES > Physics

Divisions:

Division of Experimental Physics

Projects: