Central rapidity Λ production has been measured in sulfur collisions with Cu, Ag, and Pb at 200 GeV/c per nucleon. Lambdas produced in these collisions were identified by their charged decays recorded by a time projection chamber. The Λ yields are compared as a function of target mass. For each target, the yields are reported as a function of Λ transverse kinetic energy and zero degree energy (a measure of collision centrality). In each system, the data exceed predictions of the venus size-2(4.02) model of sulfur-nucleus collisions. The observed excesses show no obvious variation with collision centrality from moderate to highly central collisions.

• Received 26 December 1991

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.46.727