Collisons in space experiments at high energies, laboratory experiments and suggested signatures of quark-gluon plasma: an alternative approach to the analysis of actual observations

Abstract

In recent times there have been widespread speculations and claims among the cosmic-ray as well as high-energy physicists about the detection of some «signatures» for the formation of what one calls the quark-gluon plasma states in the ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray collisions involving heavy nuclei. Furthermore, there are reportedly some hints to the detection of such states in laboratory experiments as well. We have collected here what are, in general, believed to be the diagnostics for such quark-gluon plasma states and have also provided alternative explanations for all the relevant observations at laboratory energies and cosmic-ray energies. Thus the obvious conclusion is: the evidences claimed so far are neither unique and decisive nor are very substantial, tenable and conclusive, as one can understand them almost completely from an altogether different theoretical framework.