Search

We investigate the cold nuclear matter effects on $J/\psi$ production, whose understanding is fundamental to study the quark-gluon plasma. Two of these effects are of particular relevance: the shadowing of the parton distributions and the nuclear absorption of the $c\bar{c}$ pair. If $J/\psi$'s are not produced {\it via} a $2 \to 1$ process as suggested by recent theoretical works, one has to modify accordingly the way to compute the nuclear shadowing. This naturally induces differences in the absorption cross-section fit to the data. A careful analysis of these differences however requires taking into account the experimental uncertainties and their correlations, as done in this work for $d$Au collisions at $\sqrtsNN=200\mathrm{GeV}$, using several shadowing parametrisations., Comment: 6 pages, 1 table, 3 figures, Submitted to J. Phys. G, talk given at the International Conference on Strangeness in Quark Matter (SQM2009), Buzios, Brasil, Sep. 27 - Oct. 2, 2009

We have carried out a wide study of Cold Nuclear Matter (CNM) effects on J/Psi production in d+Au, Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV. We have studied the effects of three different gluon-shadowing parametrisations, using the usual simplified kinematics for which the momentum of the gluon recoiling against the J/Psi is neglected as well as an exact kinematics for a 2 -> 2 process, namely g+g -> J/psi+g as expected from LO pQCD. We have shown that the rapidity distribution of the nuclear modification factor R_dAu, and particularly its anti-shadowing peak, is systematically shifted toward larger rapidities in the 2 -> 2 kinematics, irrespective of which shadowing parametrisation is used. In turn, we have noted differences in the effective final-state nuclear absorption necessary to fit the PHENIX d+Au data. Taking advantage of our implementation of a 2 -> 2 kinematics, we have also computed the transverse momentum dependence of the latter nuclear modification factor, which cannot be predicted with the usual simplified kinematics. All the corresponding observables have been computed for Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions and compared to the PHENIX and STAR data. Finally, we have extracted the effective nuclear absorption from the recent measurements of R_CP in d+Au by the PHENIX collaboration., Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures, LaTeX. Version to appear in Phys. Rev. C: a few typos corrected and one comment about the EPS08 nPDF parametrisation added

We present a wide study on the comparison of different shadowing models and their influence on \jpsi production. We have taken into account the possibility of different partonic processes for the $c \bar c$-pair production. We notice that the effect of shadowing corrections on \jpsi production clearly depends on the partonic process considered. Our results are compared to the available data on \dAu collisions at RHIC energies. We try different break up cross section for each of the studied shadowing models., Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure. Contribution to Rencontres de Moriond 2009: QCD and High Energy Interactions

Experiments with gold-gold collisions at RHIC have revealed (i) stronger suppression of charmonium production at forward rapidity than at midrapidity and (ii) the similarity between the suppression degrees at RHIC and SPS energies. To describe these findings we employ the model that includes nuclear shadowing effects, calculated within the Glauber-Gribov theory, rapidity-dependent absorptive mechanism, caused by energy-momentum conservation, and dissociation and recombination of the charmonium due to interaction with co-moving matter. The free parameters of the model are tuned and fixed by comparison with experimental data at lower energies. A good agreement with the RHIC results concerning the rapidity and centrality distributions is obtained for both heavy Au+Au and light Cu+Cu colliding system. For pA and A+A collisions at LHC the model predicts stronger suppression of the charmonium and bottomonium yields in stark contrast to thermal model predictions., Comment: SQM2008 proceedings, 6 pages

One observes strong suppression effects for hard probes, e.g. the production of J/psi or high-pT particles, in nucleus-nucleus (AA) collisions at RHIC. Surprisingly, the magnitude of the suppression is quite similar to that at SPS. In order to establish whether these features arise due to the presence of a thermalized system of quarks and gluons formed in the course of the collision, one should investigate the impact of suppression mechanisms which do not explicitly involve such a state. We calculate shadowing for gluons in the Glauber-Gribov theory and propose a model invoking a rapidity-dependent absorptive mechanism motivated by energy-momentum conservation effects. Furthermore, final state suppression due to interaction with co-moving matter (hadronic or pre-hadronic) has been shown to describe data at SPS. We extend this model by including the backward reaction channel, i.e. recombination of open charm, which is estimated directly from pp data at RHIC. Strong suppression of charmonium both in pA and AA collisions at LHC is predicted. This is in stark contrast with the predictions of models assuming QGP formation and thermalization of heavy quarks., Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, contribution to the proceedings of Hard Probes 2008

Cold nuclear matter effects on J/psi production in proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions are evaluated taking into account the specific J/psi production kinematics at the partonic level, the shadowing of the initial parton distributions and the absorption in the nuclear matter. We consider two different parton processes for the c-cbar pair production: one with collinear gluons and a recoiling gluon in the final state and the other with initial gluons carrying intrinsic transverse momentum. Our results are compared to RHIC observables. The smaller values of the nuclear modification factor R_AA in the forward rapidity region (with respect to the mid rapidity region) are partially explained, therefore potentially reducing the need for recombination effects., Comment: 7 pages, 11 figures, LaTeX, uses elsarticle.cls (included).v2: version (with minor text revisions and Fig 2 and 4a modified) to appear in Phys.Lett. B

We present our results on transverse momentum fluctuations, multiplicity fluctuations and transverse momentum distributions for baryons and mesons in the framework of the clustering of color sources. We determine under what conditions the initial state configurations can lead to color connection, and more specifically, if variations of the initial state can lead to a transition from disconnected to connected color clusters, modifying the number of effective sources. We find that beyond a critical point, one has a condensate, containing interacting and hence color-connected sources. This point thus specifies the onset of color deconfinement. We show that the transverse momentum and multiplicity distributions are related to each other in a defined way. We obtain a non-monotonic dependence of the $p_T$ and multiplicity fluctuations with the number of participants. We present our results for the fluctuations and the transverse momentum distributions at RHIC energies compared to the existing experimental data and our predictions for LHC energies., Comment: 4 pages, 7 figures. Contribution to QM2008, to be published in Indian Journal of Physics

Thirty years ago, Matsui and Satz proposed the $J/\psi$ destruction as a signal of a Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) formation, due to the Debye screening between the pair c-cbar. At the light of the recent experimental data, I review the different effects on $J/\psi$ production, from SPS to LHC energies, distinguishing between Cold Nuclear Matter (CNM) and QGP effects. Different possibilities and explanations for the available experimental data are discussed. Model predictions for the arriving LHC data are also presented., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Contribution to the QCD session of 43rd Rencontres de Moriond 2008

We discuss features of charmonium suppression at $\sqtr{s} = 200$ GeV within the framework of the Glauber-Gribov theory and the comovers interaction model. The latter approach has been extended by allowing for secondary charmonium production due to recombination of $c\bar{c}$ pairs in the medium, estimated from pp data at the same bombarding energy. Centrality and rapidity dependence of the nuclear modification factor for J/psi in d+Au, Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at RHIC are reproduced without fitting a single model parameter. A strong suppression of J/psi is predicted for LHC energies., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, proceedings from Quark Matter 2008

We present a new approach to estimate the effect of the gluon shadowing in nucleus+nucleus collisions and its consequences on the J/psi production yield. Using kinematical information available from the measured J/psi production in proton+proton collisions at \sqrt s = 200 GeV, we build a Glauber Monte Carlo code which takes into account shadowing in two alternative ways: multiple scattering corrections or Q2 evolution of parton densities. We exploit the dependence of these different parameterizations to the J/psi transverse momentum and we give the first predictions on the resulting pT dependence of the nuclear modification factor in deuteron+gold collisions at the same energy., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Final version for journal submission

Charmonium production at heavy-ion colliders is considered within the comovers interaction model. The formalism is extended by including possible secondary J/psi production through recombination and an estimate of recombination effects is made with no free parameters involved. The comovers interaction model also includes a comprehensive treatment of initial-state nuclear effects, which are discussed in the context of such high energies. With these tools, the model properly describes the centrality and the rapidity dependence of experimental data at RHIC energy, $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 GeV, for both Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions. Predictions for LHC, $\sqrt{s}$ = 5.5 TeV, are presented and the assumptions and extrapolations involved are discussed., Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures

In the framework of percolation of strings, the transverse momentum distributions in AA and hh collisions at all centralities and energies follow a universal behavior. The width of these distributions is related to the width of the distribution of the size of the clusters formed from the overlapping of the produced strings. The difference between the distributions for baryons and mesons originates in the fragmentation of clusters of several strings which enhance the particles with higher number of constituents. The results agree with SPS and RHIC data. The predictions for LHC show differences for baryons compared with RHIC. At LHC energies we obtain also a high pt suppression for pp high multiplicity events compared with pp minimum bias., Comment: Accepted for publication in Eur.Phys.J.C

This writeup is a compilation of the predictions for the forthcoming Heavy Ion Program at the Large Hadron Collider, as presented at the CERN Theory Institute 'Heavy Ion Collisions at the LHC - Last Call for Predictions', held from May 14th to June 10th 2007., Comment: LaTeX, 185 pages, uses iop styles; writeup of the CERN Theory Institute 'Heavy Ion Collisions at the LHC - Last Call for Predictions', held from May 14th to June 10th 2007

Using a final state interaction model which describes the data on these two observables, at RHIC, we make predictions at the LHC -- using the same cross-section and pT-shift. The increase in the medium density between these two energies (by a factor close to three) produces an increase of the fixed pT pi0 suppression by a factor 2 at large pT and of v2 by a factor 1.5., Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures. Contributed to Workshop on Heavy Ion Collisions at the LHC: Last Call for Predictions, Geneva, Switzerland, 14 May - 8 Jun 2007

We present our results on multiplicity and $p_T$ fluctuations at LHC energies in the framework of the clustering of color sources. In this approach, elementary color sources -strings- overlap forming clusters, so the number of effective sources is modified. We find that the fluctuations are proportional to the number of those clusters., Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures. Contributed to Workshop on Heavy Ion Collisions at the LHC: Last Call for Predictions, Geneva, Switzerland, 14 May - 8 Jun 2007

We present our predictions on multiplicities and $J/\psi$ suppression at LHC energies. Our results take into account shadowing effects in the initial state and final state interactions with the hot medium. We obtain 1800 charged particles at LHC and the $J/\psi$ suppression increases by a factor 5 to 6 compared to RHIC., Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures. Contributed to Workshop on Heavy Ion Collisions at the LHC: Last Call for Predictions, Geneva, Switzerland, 14 May - 8 Jun 2007

The fluctuations due to the clustering of color sources can explain the behaviour of the scaled multiplicity variance and transverse momentum fluctuations with centrality. They also predict a nonmonotonic behaviour with centrality for the multiplictiy associated to high pT events. The clustering of color sources gives rise to an increase in the long-range correaltions with centrality as well as to a supression at high centrality with respect to superposition model predictions., Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures. Presented at the 2nd edition of the International Workshop "Correlations and Fluctuations in Relativistic Nuclear Collisions", July 7-9 2006, Galileo Galilei Institue, Florence, Italy

In the field theoretical Glauber-Gribov framework in the eikonal approximation, we show that, in hadron-nucleus collisions in the high-energy limit and under especific conditions, the rescattering contributions to the J/psi production cross-section vanish, leading to an A^1 dependence on the atomic number A -- except for nuclear effects in the nucleus structure function, the so-called shadowing. We show that the RHIC data on $J/\psi$ production in d-Au collisions can be described with nuclear shadowing alone (sigma_{abs} = 0). The corresponding results for Au-Au collisions are also presented and compared with available data., Comment: 17 pages, 2 figures, published version

We present our results on transverse momentum fluctuations and multiplicity fluctuations in the framework of the clustering of color sources. In this approach, elementary color sources -strings- overlap forming clusters, so the number of effective sources is modified. These clusters decay into particles with mean transverse momentum that depends on the number of elementary sources that conform each cluster and the area occupied by the cluster. We find a non-monotonic dependence of the $p_T$ and multiplicity fluctuations with the number of participants. In our approach, the physical mechanism responsible of these fluctuations is the same: the formation of clusters of strings that introduces correlations between the produced particles., Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, proceedings of Quark Confinement and Hadron Spectrum VII, Ponta Delgada, Portugal, 2-7 September 2006

I review the problem of parton saturation and its implications through three in principal different approaches, but somewhat related: saturation in a geometrical approach, QCD saturation through the Color Glass Condensate and shadowing in a Pomeron approach., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, Fifth International Conference on Perspectives in Hadronic Physics 22-26 May 2006 Trieste, Italy

In the framework of a final state interaction model, we show that the so-called radial flow, i.e. the almost linear increase of the inverse slope $T$ with the mass of the produced particle, is already contained in the initial condition -- with a slope $$ (the so-called strength of the average radial transverse flow) which is larger than the measured one. While the precise value of the slope depends on the details of the model, the above result has a very general basis -- namely the increase with increasing $p_T$ of the fixed $p_T$ suppression, in the low $p_T$ region., Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures

We propose a final state interaction model to describe the fixed $p_T$ suppression of the yield of particles at all values of $p_T$. We make an extension of the model to the motion in the transverse plane which introduces a dependence of the suppression on the azimuthal angle $\theta_R$. We obtain values of the elliptic flow $v_{2}$ close to the experimental ones for all values of $p_T$., Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, proceedings of XLIst Rencontres de Moriond: QCD and Hadronic Interactions at high energy

It has been shown that a final state interaction model, used to describe J/psi suppression, can also describe the fixed p_T suppression of the pi^0 (and charged pions) yield at all values of p_T, with a final state interaction cross-section sigma close to one milibarn. We propose an extension of the model to the pion motion in the transverse plane - which introduces a dependence of the suppression on the azimuthal angle theta_R. Using the same value of sigma, we obtain values of the elliptic flow v_2 close to the experimental ones, for all values of p_T, including the soft p_T region., Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures

We present our results on multiplicity fluctuations in the framework of the string clustering approach. We compare our results --with and without clustering formation-- with CERN SPS NA49 data. We find a non-monotonic behaviour of these fluctuations as a function of the collision centrality, which has the same origin as the observed fluctuations of transverse momentum: the correlations between the produced particles due to the cluster formation., Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, revtex

The yield of $J/\psi$ per binary nucleon-nucleon collision in $AuAu$ and $CuCu$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 200$ GeV is computed in the framework of the dual parton model, supplemented with final state interaction (comovers interaction). For the latter we use the same value of the cross-section, $\sigma_{co} = 0.65$ mb, which describes the anomalous $J/\psi$ suppression observed at CERN-SPS energies. Several possibilities for the value of the absorptive cross-section are considered. Shadowing is introduced in both the comovers and the $J/\psi$ yields. A comparison with the results at CERN-SPS, including a prediction for $InIn$ collisions, is also presented., Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures

We propose a model of suppression of $\pi^0$'s based on two different effects: at low $p_T$ we take into account the shadowing corrections, while at large $p_T$ the suppression is produced due to the interaction of the large $p_T$ pion with the dense medium created in the collision. The main features of the data on $AuAu$ and $dAu$ collisions are reproduced both at mid and at forward rapidities., Comment: 4 pages, latex, 2 postscript figures

It is experimentally observed that the width of the KNO multiplicity distribution --or the negative binomial parameter 1/k-- for pp collisions, in the energy region 10 to 1800 GeV, is an increasing function of the energy. We argue that in models with parton or string saturation such trend will necessary change: at some energy the distribution will start to become narrower. In the framework of percolating strings, we have estimated the change to occur at an energy of the order of 5--10 TeV., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, uses elsart and amsmath; comparison with some other models was added; version accepted by PLB

We propose a model of suppression of large $p_T$-pions in heavy ion collisions based on the interaction of the large $p_T$ pion with the dense medium created in the collision. The model is practically the same as the one previously introduced to describe $J/\psi$ suppression. Both the $p_T$ and the centrality dependence of the data are reproduced. In deuteron-gold collisions, the effect of the final state interaction with the dense medium turns out to be negligibly small. Here the main features of the data are also reproduced both at mid and at forward rapidities., Comment: 20 pages, latex, 3 postscript figures. Last version, to be published in EJPC

In the framework of percolation of color sources, the transverse momentum distribution in heavy ion and $p+p$ collisions at all centralities and energies are shown to follow a universal behaviour. The width of the distribution depends on the fluctuations of the number of color sources per cluster. At low densities, there are only independent single color sources, no fluctuations occurs and the distribution is described by a single exponential. At very high densities, only one cluster of many color sources appears and therefore there are not fluctuations either and the hardness of the distribution is suppressed. The Cronin effect in this framework is due to a maximum of the fluctuations which decreases as the density increases. We obtain a good agreement with experimental data including the low $p_T$ behaviour and the spectra for different particles. We show that the transverse momentum and multiplicity distributions are related to each other in a defined way. This point is satisfied by the experimental data on $p+p$ collisions at different energies., Comment: 45 pages, latex, 11 postscript figures. Final version, accepted in EJPC

In the framework of the Schwinger Model for percolating strings we establish a general relation between multiplicity and transverse momentum square distributions in hadron-hadron and heavy ion collisions. Some of our results agree with the Colour Glass Condensate model., Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure

The behaviour of the transverse momentum fluctuations with the centrality of the collision shown by the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider data is naturally explained by the clustering of color sources. In this framework, elementary color sources --strings-- overlap forming clusters, so the number of effective sources is modified. These clusters decay into particles with mean transverse momentum that depends on the number of elementary sources that conform each cluster, and the area occupied by the cluster. The transverse momentum fluctuations in this approach correspond to the fluctuations of the transverse momentum of these clusters, and they behave essentially as the number of effective sources., Comment: 16 pages, RevTex, 4 postscript figures. Enhanced version. New figures

We derive the inclusive transverse spectrum of minijets in nuclear collisions at very high energies by assuming that the nuclear S-matrix factorizes into a product of elastic S-matrices for elementary partonic collisions. Interference effects and, in particular, the contribution of loop diagrams are fully taken into account in the derivation of the spectrum, which is shown to coincide with the result earlier obtained by superposing the elementary interactions incoherently. A quantitative analysis confirms that the deformation induced by multiple collsions is a large effect at RHIC and LHC energies, for transverse momenta ~ 20 GeV., Comment: text in LaTex, 4 figures in PS

We demonstrate that the dipole-hadron cross-section computed from the non-linear evolution equation for the Colour Glass Condensate saturates the Froissart bound in the case of a fixed coupling and for a small dipole (Q^2 >> Lambda_{QCD}^2). That is, the cross-section increases as the logarithm squared of the energy, with a proportionality coefficient involving the pion mass and the BFKL intercept (alpha_s N_c/pi)4 ln 2. The pion mass enters via the non-perturbative initial conditions at low energy. The BFKL equation emerges as a limit of the non-linear evolution equation valid in the tail of the hadron wavefunction. We provide a physical picture for the transverse expansion of the hadron with increasing energy, and emphasize the importance of the colour correlations among the saturated gluons in suppressing non-unitary contributions due to long-range Coulomb tails. We present the first calculation of the saturation scale including the impact parameter dependence. We show that the cross-section at high energy exhibits geometric scaling with a different scaling variable as compared to the intermediate energy regime., Comment: 42 pages, 5 included figures. A few references and explanations added. Some recent arguments concerning the role of the "white region" are clarified. Final version to appear in Nuclear Physics A

We study in detail the main features of the unitarized Regge model (CFKS), recently proposed to describe the small-$Q^2$ domain. It takes into account a two-component description with two types of unitarized contributions: one is the multiple Pomeron exchanges contribution, interacting with the large dipole size configurations, and the other one consists on a unitarized dipole cross section, describing the interaction with the small size dipoles. We compare the resulting dipole cross section to that from the saturation model (GBW)., Comment: 4 pages, latex, 2 figures. To appear in the proceedings of the XXXVIIth Rencontres de Moriond

Calculations of the production rate of particles with $x>1$ in nuclear collisions due to the interaction of colour strings are presented. Momentum and colour sum rules are used to determine the fragmentation functions of fused strings. Mechanisms of the string interaction are considered with total and partial overlapping in the transverse plane. The results reveal strong dependence of the chosen mechanism. In the percolation scenario with partial overlapping the $x$-dependence of the production rates agrees well with the existing data. The magnitude of the rates for $\pi^+$ production is in agreement with experiment. However the rates for the protons are substantially below the data., Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures

We study in detail the main features of the unitarized Regge model (CFKS), recently proposed to describe the small-$Q^2$ domain. It takes into account a two-component description with two types of unitarized contributions: one is the multiple pomeron exchange contribution, interacting with the large dipole configurations, and the other one consists of a unitarized dipole cross section, describing the interaction with the small size dipoles. We analyze the ratio between soft and hard pieces as a function of the virtuality, and also compare the resulting dipole cross section to that from the saturation model. Diffraction dissociation is also considered, showing the scaling violations in diffractive DIS and estimating the corresponding logarithmic slope., Comment: 14 pages, 5 postscript figures. Version to be published in Eur. Phys. J. C

We study the enhancement of $c \bar c$ pair production that takes place in central heavy ion collisions due to the formation of clusters of strings. These clusters produce heavy flavors more efficiently due to their higher color. We discuss the competition between this mechanism and the well-known screening of color charge, which, above a critical string density, reduces strongly the probability of binding these $c \bar c$ pairs to form $J/\Psi$ particles. The dependence of $J/\Psi$ suppression on the centrality shows a peak at both RHIC and LHC energies corresponding to the percolation critical density., Comment: 12 pages, revtex, 3 postscript figures

New experimental data from HERA explore the region of very small x and small and moderate $Q^2$. We study the role of unitarity corrections in the description of these data. For that, we propose a model separating the small and large components of the $q\bar q$ fluctuation. This model gives a unified description of total and diffractive production in $\gamma^*p$ interactions. In this model unitarity corrections are controlled by diffraction data., Comment: 4 pages, 3 postscript figures. Contributed to 36th Rencontres de Moriond on QCD and Hadronic Interactions, Les Arcs, France, 17-24 Mar 2001

The NA50 collaboration data on the $J/\psi$ suppression are compared with the results obtained in a comovers approach based on the Dual Parton Model (DPM). Predictions for the $J/\psi$ suppression versus the charged multiplicity - measured in the rapidity region of the dimuon trigger - are given for SPS and RHIC energies., Comment: 4 pages, contribution to QM2001

We investigate the role of unitarization effects in virtual photon-proton (\gamma^*p) interactions at small x. The q\bar{q}-fluctuation of the initial photon is separated into a small distance and a large distance component and a model for the unitarization of each component is proposed. The Born approximation for the small size component is calculated using QCD perturbation theory. Reggeon diagram technique is used in order to obtain a self-consistent scheme for both total \gamma^*p cross section and diffractive production. The model gives a good description of HERA data in the small-x region, with a single Pomeron of intercept 1.2., Comment: 27 pages, 8 postscript figures

We propose a unified approach which describes both structure functions in the small-$x$ region and diffractive production in $\gamma^*p$-interactions. It is shown that the model, based on reggeon calculus and a quark-parton picture of the interaction, gives a good description of available experimental data in a broad region of $Q^2$ (including $Q^2 =0$) with a single Pomeron of intercept $\alpha_P(0) = 1.2$. Predictions for very small $x$ are given and the problem of saturation of parton densities is discussed., Comment: 43 pages, latex, 15 postscript figures

We show that, contrary to recent claims, the $J/\psi$ suppression resulting from its interaction with comovers does not saturate at large transverse energy $E_T$. On the contrary, it shows a characteristic structure - change of curvature near the knee of the $E_T$ distribution - which is due to the $E_T$ (or multiplicity) fluctuation, and agrees with recent experimental results., Comment: 12 pages, latex, 2 postscript figures

We apply dynamical string models of heavy-ions collisions at high energies to the analysis of event-by-event fluctuations. Main attention is devoted to a new variable proposed to study "equilibration" in heavy-ions collisions. Recent results of the NA49 collaboration at CERN SPS are compared with predictions of the Quark-Gluon String Model (QGSM), which gives a good description of different aspects of multiparticle production for collisions of nucleons and nuclei. It is shown that the new observable and other results of the NA49 analysis of event-by-event fluctuations are correctly reproduced in the model. We discuss dynamical effects responsible for these fluctuations and give the predictions for p-p, p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions at RHIC and higher energies., Comment: 17 pages, 2 postscript figures

We introduce a new formulation of the diquark breaking mechanism which describes with no free parameters the huge nuclear stopping observed in central nucleus-nucleus collisions. Supplemented, in the dual parton model, with strings originating from diquark--antidiquark pairs from the nucleon sea, it gives a substantial increase of hyperon and antihyperon yields from $pPb$ to central $PbPb$ collisions. Compared to data, this increase is slightly underestimated for $\Lambda$'s and $\Xi$'s but is five times too small for $\Omega$'s. Introducing final state interactions, a reasonable description of all baryon and antibaryon yields is achieved., Comment: 17 pages, 4 postscript figures

It is shown that the multiplicity distribution associated to self-shadowing events satisfies an universal equation in terms of the minimum bias distribution. The number of elementary collisions, basic in the structure of any multiple scattering, is reduced if a collective effect like percolation of strings takes place. The main consequences of the percolation are briefly discussed., Comment: 10 pages, 4 Postscript figures. Talk given in the workshop Particle Distributions in Hadronic and Nuclear Collisions, University of Illinois at Chicago

In the framework of a model based on nuclear absorption plus comover interaction, we compute the $E_{T}$ distribution of the $J/\psi$ in $PbPb$ collisions at SPS and compare it with available NA50 data. Our analysis suggests that the existence of new physics (deconfinement phase transition) in the region $E_{T} \lsim 100$ GeV is unlikely and that signals of new physics should rather be searched in the region $E_T \gsim 100$ GeV. The $E_{T}$ dependence of the $J/\psi$ transverse momentum has been computed. At large $E_T$ it turns out to be much flatter in the comover approach than in a phase transition framework. Estimates of the $J/\psi$ suppression at RHIC and LHC energies are also given., Comment: 31 pages, LaTeX, 9 postscript figures included using epsfig; references updated and comments added; final version to appear in Phys. Rev. C

Recent experimental data on antibaryon production outside nucleon-nucleon kinematical limits have been obtained in Pb-Pb collisions at SPS energies. We present a possible explanation for this phenomenon based on the existence of collective effects. String Fusion Model results are compared to the data and predictions are also presented., Comment: Latex, 10 pages, 3 Postscript figures

String Fusion Model Code results for Pb--Pb central collisions at SPS energies including the string fusion interaction mechanism are compared to the last experimental data. Predictions for RHIC energies are also presented. On the other hand, the evolution of the strangeness enhancement ratio $E_s=\frac{<\Lambda>+4}{3<\pi^->}$ with the energy and with the atomic number of participant nuclei is discussed., Comment: LaTeX, 19 pages, 4 Postscript figures

It is shown that the critical threshold for percolation of the overlapping strings exchanged in heavy ion collisions can naturally explain the sharp strong suppresion of $J/\psi$ shown by the experimental data on central Pb--Pb collisions, which does not occur in central O--U and S--U collisions., Comment: 11 pages in LaTeX plus 1 postscript figure

It is shown that the fusion of strings is a source of particle production in nucleus--nucleus collisions outside the kinematical limits of nucleon--nucleon collisions. The spectrum of different particles is compared with the high energy data on p--A collisions obtaining a reasonable agreement. Results for A--B collisions at $\sqrt{s}=19.4$ AGeV and $\sqrt{s}=200$ AGeV are given. It is shown that the fusion of strings can accelerate particles up to the highest energy detected in cosmic rays without help of any additional cosmic accelerator. Also the rise of the average shower depth of maximun for cosmic rays in the energy range between $10^{16}$ eV and $10^{19}$ eV can be explained by the same mechanism without requiring any change in the chemical composition., Comment: LaTeX, 17 pages plus 7 figures in a separate postcript file