High-multiplicity lead-lead interactions at 158 GeV/c per nucleon
P. Deines-Jones, Louisiana State University
M. L. Cherry, Louisiana State University
A. Dabrowska, Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences
R. Holynski, Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences
W. V. Jones, Louisiana State University
E. D. Kolganova, Alikhanov Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics
D. Kudzia, Louisiana State University
B. S. Nilsen, Louisiana State University
A. Olszewski, Louisiana State University
E. A. Pozharova, Alikhanov Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics
K. Sengupta, Louisiana State University
M. Szarska, Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences
A. Trzupek, Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences
C. J. Waddington, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
J. P. Wefel, Louisiana State University
B. Wilczynska, Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences
H. Wilczynski, Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences
W. Wolter, Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences
B. Wosiek, Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences
K. Wozniak, Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Abstract
The Krakow-Louisiana-Minnesota-Moscow Collaboration (KLMM) has exposed a set of emulsion chambers with lead targets to a 158 GeV/c per nucleon beam of 208Pb nuclei, and we report the initial analysis of 40 high-multiplicity Pb-Pb collisions. To test the validity of the superposition model of nucleus-nucleus interactions in this new regime, we compare the shapes of the pseudorapidity distributions with FRITIOF Monte Carlo model calculations, and find close agreement for even the most central events. We characterize head-on collisions as having a mean multiplicity of 1550± 120 and a peak pseudorapidity density of 390± 30. These estimates are significantly lower than our FRITIOF calculations.
