Rate equation network for baryon production in high energy nuclear collisions

We develop and solve a network of rate equations for the production of baryons and antibaryons in high energy nuclear collisions. We include all members of the baryon octet and decuplet and allow for transformations among them. This network is solved during a relativistic 2+1 hydrodynamical expansion of the of the hot matter created in the collision. As an application we compare to the number of protons, λ's, negative cascades, and Ω baryons measured at midrapidity in central collisions of gold nuclei at 65 GeV per nucleon at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC).