NA49 experiment
Encyclopedia
The NA49 experiment was a particle physics
experiment that took place in the North Area of the Super Proton Synchrotron
at CERN. It used a large-acceptance hadron
detector (a time projection chamber
) to investigate reactions induced by the collision of various heavy ion
s (such as those of lead
) on targets made of a variety of elements. This was used to investigate the properties of quark–gluon plasma.
The NA49 experiment was the follow-up to the NA35 experiment, and was approved on 18 September 1991. The experiment was completed on 19 October 2002, and was succeeded by the NA61 experiment (SHINE). The spokesperson for the experiment is Peter Seyboth.
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
experiment that took place in the North Area of the Super Proton Synchrotron
Super Proton Synchrotron
The Super Proton Synchrotron is a particle accelerator of the synchrotron type at CERN. It is housed in a circular tunnel, in circumference, straddling the border of France and Switzerland near Geneva, Switzerland. The SPS was designed by a team led by John Adams, director-general of what was...
at CERN. It used a large-acceptance hadron
Hadron
In particle physics, a hadron is a composite particle made of quarks held together by the strong force...
detector (a time projection chamber
Time projection chamber
In physics, a time projection chamber is a particle detector invented by David R. Nygren, an American physicist, at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in the late 1970s...
) to investigate reactions induced by the collision of various heavy ion
Heavy ion
Heavy ion refers to an ionized atom which is usually heavier than helium. Heavy-ion physics is devoted to the study of extremely hot nuclear matter and the collective effects appearing in such systems, differing from particle physics, which studies the interactions between elementary particles...
s (such as those of lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
) on targets made of a variety of elements. This was used to investigate the properties of quark–gluon plasma.
The NA49 experiment was the follow-up to the NA35 experiment, and was approved on 18 September 1991. The experiment was completed on 19 October 2002, and was succeeded by the NA61 experiment (SHINE). The spokesperson for the experiment is Peter Seyboth.
External links
- NA49 experiment website
- NA49 experiment 'general public' website
- NA49 experiment @ CERN Document Server (Includes both committee documents and publications of the NA49 collaboration)
- NA49 experiment @ SPIRES
- NA49 experiment @ CERN Greybook