Abstract :
Net-baryon rapidity distributions in central Au+Au collisions at sNN=200 GeV are shown to consist of three components. The nonequilibrium contributions are accounted for in a Relativistic Diffusion Model. Near midrapidity, a third fraction containing Zeq≃22 protons reaches local statistical equilibrium in a discontinuous transition. It may be associated with a deconfinement of the participant partons and thus, serve as a signature for Quark–Gluon Matter formation.
