Production of deuterium, tritium, and He 3 in central Pb + Pb collisions at 20A, 30A, 40A, 80A, and 158A GeV at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron

Abstract

Production of d,t, and He3 nuclei in central Pb+Pb interactions was studied at five collision energies (sNN=6.3, 7.6, 8.8, 12.3, and 17.3 GeV) with the NA49 detector at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron. Transverse momentum spectra, rapidity distributions, and particle ratios were measured. Yields are compared to predictions of statistical models. Phase-space distributions of light nuclei are discussed and compared to those of protons in the context of a coalescence approach. The coalescence parameters B2 and B3, as well as coalescence radii for d and He3 were determined as a function of transverse mass at all energies.