Quark-gluon plasma formation in relativistic heavy ion collisions within the hydrodynamical description

The space-time picture is studied of the quark-gluon plasma formation with finite rearrangement time during relativistic heavy ion collisions within a one-dimensional one-component fluid-dynamical description. For the QCD-suggested conversion time scale in the order of 1 fm/c the maximum effect of the delayed deconfinement was found manifesting, e.g., in very broad fronts separating hadron matter and plasma, strong extra entropy production and strong time dependence of the deconfined state. The change in the flow pattern is discussed as a possible sign of the deconfinement transition. (author). 3 figs., 22 refs