[en] This paper studies the average multiplicities of singly charged relativistic particles in oxygen-induced interactions with a nuclear emulsion target over the energy range 2.1-200 GeV. A similar energy dependence as for proton-induced interactions is observed. Both the number of participating nucleons and the number of binary collisions are shown to be of importance for the particle production

[en] The EMU01 Collaboration has employed emulsion chamber and pellicle detectors to accumulate a large database of heavy nucleus interactions. Samples include both minimum bias and central collisions, analyzed in a uniform manner to extract multiplicities and angular distributions of charged particles and nuclear fragments. We find that the main features of these distributions are well represented by geometrical superposition models. A unique feature of EMU01 is the use of emulsion chambers with thin foil targets to observe produced particle angular distributions with exceptionally high precision, permitting extension of fluctuations and correlations analyses beyond the resolution limits imposed by other experimental techniques. The data are generally well reproduced by interaction simulations such as FRITIOF (the Lund monte carlo for nuclear collisions) which include only conventional physics effects. However, the analysis of fluctuations and correlations via factorial moment and cumulant techniques yields some suggestive results which require further investigation, both by continued analysis of existing data and from Au and Pb beam exposures scheduled for the next few years. (orig.)

[en] The recent status of the EMU01 experiment where nuclear emulsions are used as both target/detector material for horizontally exposed stacks and as detector for vertically exposed chamber plates is discussed. An investigation of the behaviour in the number of produced particles per participating nucleon reveal weak nonlinear effects for the most central collisions. Intermittency index can be obtained from the density distributions for S+Au and S+Ag interactions which corresponds to fractal dimensions somewhat smaller than unity

[en] In the present letter we discuss the general features of the multiplicity distributions in relativistic heavy ion collisions. It is shown that from simple statistical considerations it is possible to predict the dependence of the dispersions of multiplicity distributions on the average multiplicities in any given rapidity window. The applicability of the negative binomial distribution to multiplicity distributions from collisions with heavy ions is discussed. (orig.)

[en] We report on an experiment in which emulsion chambers were exposed to a beam of 200 A GeV ¹⁶O at the CERN SPS. Pseudo-rapidity distributions are measured with high precision. Pseudo-rapidity densities of 140 particles per unit rapidity corresponding to an energy density of about 3 GeV/fm³ are observed. Pseudo-rapidity density distributions and fluctuations are found to satisfactorily agree with the Lund Monte Carlo model Fritiof, although new and unknown sources for fluctuations might still be present. (orig.)

[en] The multiplicity distributions of low-energetic target-associated particles from 200 A GeV oxygen-induced interactions with emulsion nuclei are presented. The experimental distributions are compared with distributions obtained using the Ranft and Fritiof simulation codes. It is found that the intra-nuclear cascade plays an important role in ion-induced interactions, similar to what is the case for hadron-induced interactions. (orig.)

[en] An investigation of the energy dependence of grey prong producing particles in ¹⁶O+emulsion interactions at energies from 2.1 to 200 A GeV is reported. Many of the features of these particles, known from hadron-induced interactions, are shown to be of importance also in heavy-ion interactions, i.e. multiplicity and angular distributions as well as the impact parameter dependence are energy independent. Furthermore the angular distribution seems to be independent of the projectile and target masses as well as centrality of the interactions. Both the Fritiof and Ranft models fail to reproduce this general angular shape. (orig.)

[en] Fluctuations in particle densities of non-statistical origin are studied in central ¹⁶O+Ag(Br) and ³²S+Au interactions at 200 A GeV. Non-statistical fluctuations in the ³²S-induced interactions seem to enhance the local particle densities, and suggest the presence of intermittancy. The fluctuations are found to be accompanied by a clustering tendency also in the azimuthal plane. A new method for the study of azimuthal correlations is proposed. (orig.)

[en] The multiplicity distributions of shower particles (n_s) are measured in inclusive inelastic oxygen emulsion interactions. Scaling is observed in the normalized variable n_s/< n_s> for 14.6, 60 and 200 A GeV. The dependence of < n_s> on the charge flow in the forward direction (Q_ZD) and the distribution of the number of participating projectile protons is examined. The normalized multiplicities as a function of Q_ZD seem also to be independent of incident energies. A comparison with the Lund model Fritiof yields satisfactory agreement. (orig.)

[en] S+Au interactions at 200A GeV were observed using emulsion chambers, permitting measurement of pseudorapidities in the central region with precision ∼0.01 unit. Scaled-factorial-moment analyses are extended to bin sizes smaller than those accessible to other fixed-target experimental techniques. For a sample of 151 central collisions, moments are calculated using both ''horizontal'' and ''vertical'' analysis techniques. While the moments are found to rise (in a log-log plot) with decreasing pseudorapidity bin size δη, their slopes roll off to approximately zero for δη<0.1