Rescattering in ν/ν-bar-deuteron reactions

A study is made of the rescattering phenomenon in the deuteron by means of the analysis of ν/ν-bar-d interactions. Values are presented of the rescattering fraction in dependence on various para-meters. The charged and negative hadron multiplicities of rescatter and non-rescatter events are evaluated. A special study is made of strange particle events. Production rates of specific particles (e.g. negative, strange) are compared for rescattering and non-rescattering reactions in their dependence on rapidity. The rescattering data are analyzed in the framework of the formation time formalism. The proper time of hadronization Tf is evaluated to be ∼0.5 fm/c. The authors' analysis of νd scattering is directly relevant to the issue of the quark-gluon plasma formation in heavy-ion collisions. Some differences between the neutrino and hadron induced rescatters in a deuteron can be attributed to the constituent quark structure of nucleons. The observed enhancement of Λ production in the rescatter events suggests that hadronic reinteraction mechanisms may obscure strangeness enhancement as a signature of the quark-gluon plasma formation in the heavy-ion collisions. The possible reduction of formation time in low multiplicity events is discussed. (author). 40 refs.; 8 figs.; 3 tabs