Nonlinear Phenomena in Complex Systems, 2009, Vol.12, No.4, pp.370-374

NONLINEAR PHENOMENA IN COMPLEX SYSTEMS
An Interdisciplinary Journal

2009, Vol.12, No.4, pp.370-374

Baryon Stopping as a Test of Gluon Saturation.
Yacine Mehtar-Tani and Georg Wolschin

We investigate baryon transport in relativistic heavy-ion collisions at energies reached at SPS, RHIC and LHC in the model of saturation. An analytical scaling law is derived within the color glass condensate framework based on small-coupling QCD. Transverse momentum spectra, net-baryon rapidity distributions and their energy, mass and centrality dependencies are well described. In a comparison with RHIC data in Au + Au collisions at = 62.4 GeV and 200 GeV, the gradual approach to the gluon saturation regime is investigated, and limits for the saturation-scale exponent are determined. Predictions for net-baryon rapidity spectra and the mean rapidity loss in central Pb + Pb collisions at LHC energies of = 5.52 TeV are made.
Key words: Relativistic heavy-ion collisions, net-baryon rapidity distributions, gluon saturation, LHC predictions

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