Antikaon production and medium effects in heavy-ion collisions at AGS

Antikaon production in heavy-ion collisions at energies available from the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) at the Brookhaven National Laborator y is studied in a relativistic transport (ART) model. We include contributi ons from the baryon-baryon, meson-baryon, and meson-meson interactions, The final-state interaction of antikaons via both absorption and elastic scatt ering by nucleons and pions are also considered, To compare with presently available or future experimental data, we have calculated the antikaon rapi dity and transverse momentum distributions as well as its collective flow. Medium effects on these observables due to mean field potentials have also been investigated, it is found that both the ratio of antikaon transverse m omentum spectrum to that of kaon and their transverse flow are most sensiti ve to the in-medium properties of kaons and antikaons. (C) 1999 Elsevier Sc ience B.V.