An excitation function at the AGS: E917 — Probing the dynamics of heavy ion collisions

Abstract Particle yields and spectra for kaons, pions and protons have been measured as a function of beam energy in Au Au collisions at the AGS. The energy dependence of the yields indicates that increased beam energy leads primarily to an increase in particle production with a slight increase in transverse momentum. The measured 〈 m T 〉 distributions have been fit to a simple model which assumes a thermal distribution with an additional term proportional to the particle mass. This additional term can be attributed to collective expansion.