Nucleation of quark-gluon plasma from hadronic matter

The energy densities achieved during central collisions of large nuclei at Brookhaven's AGS may be high enough to allow the formation of quark-gluon plasma. Calculations based on relativistic nucleation theory suggest that rare events, perhaps one in every 102 or 103, undergo the phase transition. Experimental ramifications may include an enhancement in the ratio of pions to baryons, a reduction in the ratio of deuterons to protons, and a larger source size as seen by hadron interferometry.