Nucleon number dependence of longitudinal radii in ion-ion collisions as a signature of the onset of collective expansion

Abstract

In an attempt to disentangle the effects of nuclear geometry from those of nuclear geometry we study dependence of longitudinal radius on nucleon numbers of colliding nuclei within a simple model of multiple nucleon- nucleon collisions.We discuss two approaches to resulting simple formula.In the former the data up to S-Au can be described by nuclear geometry at the price of two parameters,but R_L for Pb-Pb is significantly larger than geometry can accomodate, indicating an onset of a new dynamics. In the latter even collisions induced by lighter ions give evidence of some collective behaviour and the increase of R_L for Pb-Pb indicates again the onset of a new dynamics.

Comments: 10 pages in TeX, 1 Fig. as a ps-file Preceding version contained in one place an erroneous factor of 2,which propagated to some other places.Conclusions remain unchanged. Comenius University Bratislava preprint, April 1996