Nucleation of quark-gluon plasma from hadronic matter

The energy densities achieved during central collisions of large nuclei at Brookhaven’s AGS may be high enough to allow the formation of quark-gluon plasma. Calculations based on relativistic nucleation theory suggest that rare events, perhaps one in every ${10}^2$ or ${10}^3$, undergo the phase transition. Experimental ramifications may include an enhancement in the ratio of pions to baryons, a reduction in the ratio of deuterons to protons, and a larger source size as seen by hadron interferometry.