We examine the space-time dynamics of the baryons in nucleus-nucleus collisions and estimate the energy density reached in the central rapidity region. It is found that with an incident laboratory energy of 15 GeV per projectile nucleon, a headon collision of Au on Au will leave a substantial spatial region with an energy density of 1.5–3 GeV/${\mathrm{fm}}^3$ which may exceed the energy density for a quark-gluon plasma formation.

• Received 19 August 1985

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.33.1340