DYNAMICAL EVOLUTION OF HADRONIC MATTER IN RELATIVISTIC COLLISIONS

We use the (3 + 1)-dimensional string-parton model to study relativist ic collisions of heavy ions at CERN energies. Various inclusive hadron ic observables, such as transverse energy, dE(T)/deta, and rapidity di stributions, are calculated and compared with WA80 and NA35 data. We s tudy secondary interactions that occur during the dynamical evolution, and show that these interactions tend to fill the midrapidity region. The dynamical evolution of the energy density of produced mesons and their thermodynamic properties are also studied.