The HELIOS experiment has measured inclusivep⊥ spectra of negative particles in the rapidity region 1.0<y<1.9. The general shape of thep⊥ spectra in p +W, O+W and S+W is similar, but cannot be described by a single exponential. Compared to p+p collisions, an excess is observed for low and highp⊥. This effect increases with the projectile mass. Except for very lowE⊥, the average transverse momentum <p⊥> is found to be approximately constant up to the highest accessible values ofE⊥.
We present measurements of the rapidity and transverse-momentum distributions of the protons emitted in S+W, O+W, andp+W reactions at 200 GeV/A around the target rapidity (y=1). The rapidity density rises linearly with the transverse energy for all three systems, but the slope forp+W is much steeper than for O+W and S+W. The rapidity density forp+W is much higher than predicted by summing single nucleonnucleon collisions without any nuclear effects, indicating substantial rescattering of the produced particles. The predictions of the VENUS 3 model, including rescattering, show reasonable agreement with the data for all three systems. We do not have evidence for a strong collective flow of the outgoing particles.
Data on multiplicities of charged particles produced in proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions at 200 GeV per nucleon are presented. It is shown that the mean multiplicity of negative particles is proportional to the mean number of nucleons participating in the collision both for nucleus-nucleus and proton-nucleus collisions. The apparent consistency of pion multiplicity data with the assumption of an incoherent superposition of nucleon-nucleon collisions is critically discussed.
Forum