J/psi and psi ̀produced in high-energy heavy-ion collisions are absorbed by their collisions with nucleons and produced soft particles, leading to two distinct absorption mechanisms. The signature of absorption by produced soft particles, as revealed by psi ̀production data, consists of a gap and a change of the slope in going from the pA line to the nucleus-nucleus line when we make a semi-log plot of the survival probability as a function of the path length. Using this signature, we find from the J/psi production data in pA, O-Cu, O-U, and S-U collisions that the degree of J/psi absorption by produced soft particles is small and cannot account for the J/psi data in Pb-Pb collisions. The anomalous suppression of J/psi production in Pb-Pb collisions can be explained as due to the occurrence of a new phase of strong J/psi absorption, which sets in when the local energy density exceeds about 3.4 GeV/fm3. To probe the chemical content of the new phase, we propose to study the abundance of open-charm mesons and charm hyperons which depends sensitively on the quark chemical potential.

J/psi and psi' produced in high-energy heavy-ion collisions are absorbed by their collisions with nucleons and produced soft particles, leading to two distinct absorption mechanisms. The signature of absorption by produced soft particles, as revealed by psi' production data, consists of a gap and a change of the slope in going from the pA line to the nucleus-nucleus line when we make a semi-log plot of the survival probability as a function of the path length. Using this signature, we find from the J/psi production data in pA, O-Cu, O-U, and S-U collisions that the degree of J/psi absorption by produced soft particles is small and cannot account for the J/psi data in Pb-Pb collisions. The anomalous suppression of J/psi production in Pb-Pb collisions can be explained as due to the occurrence of a new phase of strong J/psi absorption, which sets in when the local energy density exceeds about 3.4 GeV/fm3. To probe the chemical content of the new phase, we propose to study the abundance of open-charm mesons and charm hyperons which depends sensitively on the quark chemical potential.

Written primarily for researchers and graduate students who are new in this emerging field, this book develops the necessary tools so that readers can follow the latest advances in this subject. Readers are first guided to examine the basic informations on nucleon-nucleon collisions and the use of the nucleus as an arena to study the interaction of one nucleon with another. A good survey of the relation between nucleon-nucleon and nucleus-nucleus collisions provides the proper comparison to study phenomena involving the more exotic quark-gluon plasma. Properties of the quark-gluon plasma and signatures for its detection are discussed to aid future searches and exploration for this exotic matter. Recent experimental findings are summarised.

This volume deals mainly with physics related to the RHIC. It contains one of the first reports on the results of RHIC experiments.

In high-energy nuclear collisions, the new phase of the quark-gluon plasma is indicated by an anomalous increase in pressure, an excess of direct photon production, an excess of strangeness production, and an anomalous J/[psi] suppression. We review these signatures and discuss how recent high-energy heavy-ion experiments at CERN are consistent with the production of the quark-gluon plasma in high-energy Pb+Pb collisions.