Studies of relativistic heavy ion collisions at the AGS (Experiment 814)

During the past year, the Pittsburgh group has continued to work with the E814 collaboration in carrying out AGS Experiment 814. We present here a brief history of the experiment, followed by a detailed report of the analysis work being pursued at the University of Pittsburgh. As originally proposed, Experiment 814 is a study of both extreme peripheral collisions and the transition from peripheral to central collisions in relativistic heavy ion-nucleus interactions. We are studying relativistic heavy ion interactions with nuclei in two types of collisions: (a) extreme peripheral collisions of large impact parameter, and (b) central collisions with high transverse energy in the final state. The experiment emphasizes the measurement of overall event characteristics, in particular energy flow measurements and a precise measurement of the particle charge, momentum, and energy in the forward direction. This permits measurements of cross sections and rapidity densities as a function of the transverse energy for leading baryons emitted into regions of larger rapidity. Combining the energy flow measurements as a function of rapidity with the spectra of leading baryons provides information on the impact parameter dependence of the nuclear stopping of the projectile in relativistic heavy ion collisions. In 1988, the scope of Experiment 814 was enlarged to include a search for strange matter in central collisions, the first results of which have been published, and analysis on a longer run taken in 1990 is still under way