Source dynamics from deuterons and anti-deuterons in center of mass energy sqrt(sNN) = 200 GeV gold-gold collisions

We have studied the source dynamics of the matter in ultra relativistic Au+Au collisions at sNN = 200 GeV by analyzing the production of the simplest nuclei: deuterons and anti-deuterons. In relativistic heavy ion collision the system expands and cools, and when the interactions among the particles finally cease during the "freeze-out", light nuclei like d and d¯ can be formed.;The transverse momentum (pT) spectra of d and d¯ in the range 1.1 < p T < 5.0 GeV/c have been measured at mid-rapidity. The slopes of the hadron spectra are directly related to the temperature of the source at freeze-out and the flow velocity of the collectively expanding system. The radial flow has the effect of flattening the spectra of heavier particles, thus the d and d¯ spectra are less steeply falling than the (anti-)proton spectra.;Measurements of radial flow velocity and freeze-out temperature using the blast-wave hydrodynamic model for deuterons was attempted. Our results indicate that within this model the deuterons do not freeze-out contemporaneously with the produced hadrons. The deuteron spectra require a lower flow velocity than the proton spectra. Due to their unique sensitivity to the dynamics of the emission process, these results can constrain full hydrodynamics calculations.;The coalescence probability, B2, of neutrons and protons into deuterons as a function of transverse momentum and centrality has been studied. We observed a decrease in B2 for more central collisions where the volume of the system is larger. The ratio of the hadron spectra in central and peripheral collisions ( RCP) is used to study the effects of the quark-gluon plasma medium on the propagation of fast partons through it. For deuterons, we observe a significant enhancement in RCPcompared to other hadrons. This behavior indicates that both proton and neutron production are enhanced contrary to the suppression of pions.