The dependence of the anomalous J/psi suppression on the number of participant nucleons

The observation of an anomalous J/psi suppression in Pb-Pb collisions by the NA50 Collaboration can be considered as the most striking indication for the deconfinement of quarks and gluons at SPS energies. In this Letter, we determine the J/psi suppression pattern as a function of the forward hadronic energy E-ZDC measured in a Zero Degree Calorimeter (ZDC). The direct connection between EZDC and the geometry of the collision allows us to calculate, within a Glauber approach, the precise relation between the number of participant nucleons N-part and E-ZDC. Then, we check if the experimental data can be better explained by a sudden or a smooth onset of the anomalous J/psi suppression as a function of the number of participants. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Palavras-chave

Nucleus-nucleus collisions Pb-pb interactions J-psi-suppression Transverse energy 158 Gev/C Cern-sps Deconfinement Pattern

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/11822

Editora

Elsevier

DOI

10.1016/S0370-2693(01)01225-4

Coleções

FCT2-Artigos (em revistas ou actas indexadas)

Licença CC

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