Sideward flow in Au+Au collisions between 2A and 8A GeV

Using the large acceptance Time Projection Chamber of experiment E895 at Brookhaven, measurements of collective sideward flow in Au+Au collisions at beam energies of 2A, 4A, 6A, and 8A GeV are presented in the form of in-plane transverse momentum and the first Fourier coefficient of azimuthal anisotropy v(1). These measurements indicate a smooth variation of sideward flow as a function of beam energy. The data are compared with four nuclear transport models which have an orientation towards this energy range. All four exhibit some qualitative trends similar to those found in the data, although none show a consistent pattern of agreement within experimental uncertainties.     

Transverse momentum spectra of the produced hadrons at SPS energy and a random walk model

The transverse momentum spectra of the produced hadrons have been compared to a model, which is based on the assumption that a nucleus–nucleus collision is a superposition of isotropically decaying thermal sources at a given freeze-out temperature. The freeze-out temperature in nucleus–nucleus collisions is fixed from the inverse slope of the transverse momentum spectra of hadrons in nucleon–nucleon collision. The successive collisions in thessss nuclear reactions leads to gain in transverse momentum, as the nucleons propagate in the nucleus following a random walk pattern. The average transverse rapidity shift per collision is determined from the nucleon–nucleus collision data. Using this information, we obtain parameter-free result for the transverse momentum distribution of produced hadrons in nucleus–nucleus collisions. It is observed that such a model is able to explain the transverse mass spectra of the produced pions at SPS energies. However, it fails to satisfactorily explain the transverse mass spectra of kaons and protons. This indicates the presence of collective effect which cannot be accounted for, by the initial state collision broadening of transverse momentum of produced hadrons, the basis of random walk model.     

Investigation on phase and shape transitions in the hot rotating nucleus <Superscript>154</Superscript>Dy

A statistical theory for hot rotating nuclei incorporating deformation, collective and non-collective rotational degrees of freedom, shell effects and pairing correlations is used to investigate the occurrence of phase and shape transitions in the hot rotating deformed nucleus ¹⁵⁴Dy . The interplay of various degrees of freedom and their influence on the behavior of nuclei formed as fused compounds in heavy-ion reactions are studied. A phase transition from the superfluid to normal state in the nucleus with increasing temperature and angular momentum is observed. The effect of pairing on the level density parameter and nucleon separation energy has been analyzed and is found to be substantial. The neutron and proton separation energies extracted as a function of the angular momentum and temperature is found to decrease sharply for particular angular momentum states of the nucleus due to shape transitions from prolate collective to oblate non-collective at higher temperatures.     

Azimuthal angle correlations for rapidity separated Hadron pairs in d+Au collisions at square root of sNN=200 GeV

Deuteron-gold (d+Au) collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider provide ideal platforms for testing QCD theories in dense nuclear matter at high energy. In particular, models suggesting strong saturation effects for partons carrying small nucleon momentum fraction (x) predict modifications to jet production at forward rapidity (deuteron-going direction) in d+Au collisions. We report on two-particle azimuthal angle correlations between charged hadrons at forward/backward (deuteron/gold going direction) rapidity and charged hadrons at midrapidity in d+Au and p+p collisions at square root of sNN=200 GeV. Jet structures observed in the correlations are quantified in terms of the conditional yield and angular width of away-side partners. The kinematic region studied here samples partons in the gold nucleus with x~0.1 to ~0.01. Within this range, we find no x dependence of the jet structure in d+Au collisions.     

Two-proton small-angle correlations in central heavy-ion collisions: A beam-energy- and system-size-dependent study

Small-angle correlations of pairs of protons emitted in central collisions of Ca + Ca, Ru + Ru and Au + Au at beam energies from 400 to 1500MeV per nucleon are investigated with the FOPI detector system at SIS/GSI Darmstadt. Dependences on system size and beam energy are presented which extend the experimental data basis of pp correlations in the SIS energy range substantially. The size of the proton-emitting source is estimated by comparing the experimental data with the output of a final-state interaction model which utilizes either static Gaussian sources or the one-body phase-space distribution of protons provided by the BUU transport approach. The trends in the experimental data, i.e. system size and beam energy dependences, are well reproduced by this hybrid model. However, the pp correlation function is found rather insensitive to the stiffness of the equation of state entering the transport model calculations.     

Directed and elliptic flow in 197Au+197Au at intermediate energies

Directed and elliptic flow for the ¹⁹⁷Au+¹⁹⁷Au system at incident energies between 40 and 150 MeV per nucleon has been measured using the INDRA 4π multi-detector. For semi-central collisions, the excitation function of elliptic flow shows a transition from in-plane to out-of-plane emission at around 100 MeV per nucleon. The directed flow changes sign at a bombarding energy between 50 and 60 MeV per nucleon and remains negative at lower energies. Molecular dynamics calculations (CHIMERA) indicate sensitivity of the global squeeze-out transition on the σ _NN and demonstrate the importance of angular momentum conservation in transport codes at low energies.     

放射性束引起的重离子碰撞中敏感于对称能的几个观测量

利用同位旋与动量相关的强子输运模型，我们研究了放射性束引起的中能重离子碰撞中几个观测量的对称能效应。我们发现自由核子发射的非对称度的快度分布，中快度中－质比的横动量分布，的动能分布，以及同位旋相分化（fractionation）的时间演化都敏感于对称能。     

The 33 and 43 MeV (3He, xnγ) exclusive reactions on targets from Zr to Pb

Exclusive neutron spectra for neutron multiplicities x = 3, 4 and 5 have been obtained using the 33 and 43 MeV (³He, xnγ) reactions on targets of Zr, Pd, Sn, Nd, Pt, Au, and Pb. The exclusive spectral shapes vary systematically with the energy available for neutron decay in the initial or precompound nucleus. The (³He, xnγ) reaction differs from the (αxnγ) reaction at the same beam energy per nucleon in its dependence on available energy, target, and incident angular momentum.     

Target fragmentation in proton-nucleus and16O-nucleus reactions at 60 and 200 GeV/nucleon

Target remnants withZ<3 from proton-nucleus and¹⁶O-nucleus reactions at 60 and 200 GeV/nucleon were measured in the angular range from 30° to 160° (?1.7<η<1.3) employing the Plastic Ball detector. The excitation energy of the target spectator matter in central oxygen-induced collisions is found to be high enough to allow for complete disintegration of the target nucleus into fragments withZ<3. The average longitudinal momentum transfer per proton to the target in central collisions is considerably higher in the case of¹⁶O-induced reactions (≈300 MeV/c) than in proton-induced reactions (≈130 MeV/c). The baryon rapidity distributions are roughly in agreement with one-fluid hydrodynamical calculations at 60 GeV/nucleon¹⁶O+Au but are in disagreement at 200 GeV/nucleon, indicating the higher degree of transparency at the higher bombarding energy. Both, the transverse momenta of target spectators and the entropy produced in the target fragmentation region are compared to those attained in head-on collisions of two heavy nuclei at Bevalac energies. They are found to be comparable or do even exceed the values for the participant matter at beam energies of about 1–2 GeV/nucleon.     

Disappearance of Collective Rotation in Heavy Ion Collisions

A theoretical analysis of collective rotation is performed in heavy ion collisions below 100 MeV/nucleon in the quantum molecular dynamics approach. Both methods are contributed to this analysis, one is based on the shapes of azimuthal distribution, and the other is based on the numerical semiclassical calculation of rotation. The collective rotation becomes weaker with the increasing of beam energy, and tends to fade out at a certain beam energy. The impact parameter dependence of collective motion is also discussed. In connection with recent experiments, theoretical results and experimental data are compared by taking into account the fluctuation of experimental reaction plane determination.     

Quark antisymmetrization and deep-inelastic scattering : I. Nuclear quark momentum distributions

We consider the effects of quark antisymmetrization for quark momentum distributions. The simple convolution of nucleon momentum distributions in a nucleus and quark momentum distribution in a nucleon in general does not satisfy the Pauli principle. Antisymmetrizing the product of wave functions in momentum space introduces additional contributions. This paper extends the results for s-wave nuclei to p-wave nuclei, showing that the effects of antisymmetrization in that case are very small. The extension beyond the simple s-wave nuclei is important for the discussion of the role of antisymmetrization in the ratio of deep-inelastic structure functions for nuclei and nucleons.     

Effect of the momentum dependence of nuclear symmetry potential on the transverse and elliptic flows

In the framework of the isospin-dependent Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck transport model, the effect of the momentum dependence of nuclear symmetry potential on nuclear transverse and elliptic flows in the neutron-rich reaction ¹³²Sn+¹²⁴Sn at a beam energy of 400MeV/nucleon is studied. We find that the momentum dependence of nuclear symmetry potential affects the rapidity distribution of the free neutron to proton ratio, the neutron and the proton transverse flows as a function of rapidity. The momentum dependence of nuclear symmetry potential affects the neutron-proton differential transverse flow more evidently than the difference of neutron and proton transverse flows as well as the difference of proton and neutron elliptic flows. It is thus better to probe the symmetry energy by using the difference of neutron and proton flows since the momentum dependence of nuclear symmetry potential is still an open question. And it is better to probe the momentum dependence of nuclear symmetry potential by using the neutron-proton differential transverse flow the rapidity distribution of the free neutron to proton ratio.     

Complete destruction of heavy nuclei by hadrons and nuclei

The total disintegration is considered of nuclei with atomic weights ～100 and 200 by high energy hadrons and He⁴, C¹² nuclei with a momentum of 4.5 GeV/c per nucleon. It is shown that mainly nucleons are emitted, and there is no residual nucleus the mass of which is comparable to that of the primary nucleus. The probability of total disintegration is considered as a function of projectile energy and mass. The multiplicity, energy and emission angle of particles are considered as well. It is shown that the density of nuclear matter in the overlap zone of colliding nuclei exceeds the usual one by a factor of ～4. A comparison is made with interaction models. A conclusion is drawn of the collective interaction mechanism (perhaps, of the shock wave type) of particle ejection from the target nucleus at the first stage of interaction and of explosive decay of the residual nucleus at the next one.     

Relations between the differential cross sections for diffractive processes of nucleon stripping and halo-nucleus core stripping

A comparative analysis of the nucleon stripping and core stripping reactions induced by a halo nucleus is presented on the basis of certain models for diffractive processes. It follows from calculations for the halo nucleus 11Be that the transverse momentum distribution of nucleons for core stripping (as the longitudinal momentum distribution) is less distorted by absorption in a target than the distribution of core fragments for nucleon stripping. The obtained relations between the cross sections for the stripping reactions simplify interpretation of the calculation results.     

The effect of Lorentz-like force on collective flows of K+in Au+Au collisions at 1.5 Ge V/nucleon

Producing kaon mesons in heavy-ion collisions at beam energies below their threshold energy is an important way to investigate the properties of dense nuclear matter. In this study, based on the newly updated version of the ultrarelativistic quantum molecular dynamics model, we introduce the kaon-nucleon(KN) potential, including both the scalar and vector(also dubbed Lorentz-like)aspects. We revisit the influence of the KN potential on the collective flow of K+mesons produced in Au+Au collisions at Elab= 1.5 Ge V/nucleon and find that the contribution of the newly included Lorentz-like force is very important, particulary for describing the directed flow of K+. Finally, the corresponding Kao S data of both directed and elliptic flows can be simultaneously reproduced well.     

Charged particle production in proton-, deuteron-, oxygen- and sulphur-nucleus collisions at 200 GeV per nucleon

The transverse momentum and rapidity distributions of net protons and negatively charged hadrons have been measured for minimum bias proton–nucleus and deuteron–gold interactions, as well as central oxygen–gold and sulphur–nucleus collisions at 200 GeV per nucleon. The rapidity density of net protons at midrapidity in central nucleus–nucleus collisions increases both with target mass for sulphur projectiles and with the projectile mass for a gold target. The shape of the rapidity distributions of net protons forward of midrapidity for d+Au and central S+Au collisions is similar. The average rapidity loss is larger than 2 units of rapidity for reactions with the gold target. The transverse momentum spectra of net protons for all reactions can be described by a thermal distribution with ‘temperatures’ between MeV (p+S interactions) and MeV (central S+Au collisions). The multiplicity of negatively charged hadrons increases with the mass of the colliding system. The shape of the transverse momentum spectra of negatively charged hadrons changes from minimum bias p+p and p+S interactions to p+Au and central nucleus-nucleus collisions. The mean transverse momentum is almost constant in the vicinity of midrapidity and shows little variation with the target and projectile masses. The average number of produced negatively charged hadrons per participant baryon increases slightly from p+p, p+A to central S+S,Ag collisions. Received: 28 October 1997 / Published online: 10 March 1998     

Effects of density-and momentum-dependent potentials in Au+Au collisions at intermediate energies

Based on an isospin-dependent transport model, the effects of the density-and momentum-dependent potentials are studied by simulating Au on Au collisions at 90, 120, 150 and 400 MeV/nucleon. It is found that the calculated results overestimate the experimental data on the directed flow and underestimate the data on the elliptic flow for protons. The impact of the density-and momentum-dependent potentials is observed in the mid-rapidity region of the final spectra. At 90 MeV/nucleon, the momentum-dependent potential has a larger impact on the observables than the density-dependent potential, and the elliptic flow has a higher value with the positive effective mass splitting. At 400 MeV/nucleon, however, the opposite is observed. The rapidity dependence of the elliptic flow for protons is sensitive to the symmetry energy. A soft symmetry energy corresponds to a higher value of the proton elliptic flow.     

Evolution of the giant dipole resonance in excited 120Sn and 208Pb nuclei populated by inelastic alpha scattering

The evolution of the giant dipole resonance (GDR) in ¹²⁰Sn and ²⁰⁸Pb nuclei at excitation energies in the range of 30–130 MeV and 40–110 MeV, respectively, were studied by measuring high energy γ rays from the decay of the resonance. The excited states were populated by inelastic scattering of α particles at beam energies of 40 and 50 MeV/nucleon for ¹²⁰Sn and 40 MeV/nucleon for ²⁰⁸Pb. A systematic increase of the resonance width with increasing excitation energy was observed for both nuclei. The observed width evolution was compared to calculations employing a model that adiabatically couples the collective excitation to the nuclear shape, and to a model based on the collisional damping of nucleons. The adiabatic coupling model described the width evolution in both nuclei well, whereas the collisional damping calculation could describe the width evolution only in ²⁰⁸Pb. Light-particle inelastic scattering populates low angular momentum states in the target nucleus. The observed width increase is therefore interpreted to be predominantly due to fluctuations in the nuclear shape induced by temperature. This interpretation is consistent with the adiabatic model calculations and with recent angular momentum-gated measurements of the GDR in excited Sn isotopes.     

Effects of mean-field and softening of equation of state on elliptic flow in Au+Au collisions at (~SNN)~(1/2)=5 GeV from the JAM model

We perform a systematic study of elliptic flow(v_2) in Au+Au collisions at(~SNN)~(1/2) = 5 GeV by using a microscopic transport model, JAM. The centrality, pseudorapidity, transverse momentum and beam energy dependence of v_2 for charged as well as identified hadrons are studied. We investigate the effects of both the hadronic mean-field and the softening of equation of state(EoS) on elliptic flow. The softening of the EoS is realized by imposing attractive orbits in two body scattering, which can reduce the pressure of the system. We found that the softening of the EoS leads to the enhancement of v_2, while the hadronic mean-field suppresses v_2 relative to the cascade mode. It indicates that elliptic flow at high baryon density regions is highly sensitive to the EoS and the enhancement of v_2 may probe the signature of a first-order phase transition in heavy-ion collisions at beam energies of a strong baryon stopping region.