PARTICLE-PRODUCTION AT HIGH-ENERGY .2. ACCUMULATIVE IMPACT AND CLUSTERING IN RELATIVISTIC HEAVY-ION COLLISIONS

Transverse energy dependence dE(T)/d eta of O+Ag, S+Ag, and S+W collis ions at 200 GeV/c are analyzed in a parameter-free phenomenological mo del of cascade and clustering based on p+p and p+Ag collisions. The mo del uses an event generator which explicitly displays the impact param eter dependence of the colliding hadrons and incorporates basic featur es of multiparticle production in p+p collisions. p+Ag data at 200 GeV /c are first analyzed with special attention to the time ordering of t he cascading many-body processes using the space-time geometry and the impact parameter dependence of the colliding hadrons. We introduce a relaxation time parameter tau, the size of a time interval of the over lapping regions of space-time in the center-of-momentum frame of the c olliding hadrons. Within a tau interval of relaxation, impacts of all collisions are accumulative. Only after this time has passed are pions allowed to be emitted from excited nuclear matter according to a set of rules for cascade. A value of tau 0.1 fm/c used for p+Ag data leads to a description of the gross features of the transverse energy depen dence dE(T)/d eta of O+Ag and S+Ag data of WA80 and S+W data in the fo rward region of HELIOS.