A quantitative analysis of charmonium suppression in nuclear collisions

Data from J/ψ and ψ′ production in p - A collisions are used to determine the cross section for absorption of pre-resonance charmonium in nuclear matter. The J/ψ suppression in O - Cu, O - U and S - U collisions is fully reproduced by the corresponding nuclear absorption, while Pb - Pb collisions show an additional suppression increasing with centrality. We study the onset of this change in terms of hadronic comover interactions and conclude that so far no conventional hadronic description can consistently account for all data. Deconfinement, starting at a critical point determined by central S - U collisions, is in accord with the observed suppression pattern.