Radiative energy-loss of heavy quarks in a quark-gluon plasma

We estimate the radiative energy-loss of heavy quarks, produced from the initial fusion of partons, while propagating in a quark-gluon plasma which may be formed in the wake of relativistic heavy ion collisions. We find that the radiative energy-loss for heavy quarks is larger than the collisional energy-loss leading to a complete stopping of initially produced quarks with energies below about 10 GeV within 2 fm. We point out the consequences on possible signals of the quark-gluon plasma. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.