Stopping in central sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC

In relativistic heavy ion physics, nuclei are collided at large center-of-mass energies and the dynamics of the collision is probed by measuring the produced particles. In the collisions the baryon number of the initial nuclei is conserved. By measuring the baryon rapidity densities and subtracting the anti-baryon rapidity densities it is possible to study the stopping of the participating nucleons.

The data presented in the thesis was collected with the BRAHMS detector at the RHIC at BNL. BRAHMS is the only
experiment at RHIC which can measure and identify particles over a large range in rapidity. In this thesis the measurement of proton and anti-proton transverse momentum spectra at several rapidities 0.0 < y < 3.0 is presented. From the measured spectra the rapidity densities of protons, anti-protons and (from the difference)
net-protons are derived and the implications for the stopping of the initial nucleons at RHIC is discussed and compared to model predictions and measurements at lower bombarding energies.