Shock compression of hadronic matter in high-energy heavy-ion collisions

Recent data on high-energy nucleus-nucleus collisions are reviewed, covering particle spectra, rapidity and multiplicity distributions, composite particle production, and collective flow variables. Emphasis is placed both on the basic physical observables, which guide us in the understanding of the gross features of the reaction mechanism, and on the discovery of strong collective phenomena in particle emission, which generated the grounds for recent progress made in determining the equation of state of hot compressed nuclear matter. A review of appropriate techniques for this purpose is followed by a summary of recent experimental data and by a discussion about their implications on the determination of the nuclear equation of state.

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