Systematics of elliptic flow in heavy-ion collisions

We analyze elliptic flow from SIS to RHIC energies systematically in a realistic dynamical cascade model. We compare our results with the recent data from STAR and PHOBOS collaborations on elliptic flow of charged particles at midrapidity in Au+ Au collisions at RHIC. In the analysis of elliptic flow at RHIC energy, we find a good fitting with data at 1.5 times a scaling factor to our model, which characterizes that the model is required to have extra pressure generated from the subsequent parton scattering after the initial minijet production. In energy dependence of elliptic flow, we notice re-hardening nature at RHIC energies. Both these two observations would probably imply the possible formation of quark-gluon plasma.     

高能重离子碰撞中的参与者数和核子-核子碰撞数

采用核-核碰撞的Glauber模型, 给出了高能重离子碰撞中的参与者数和核子-核子碰撞数随碰撞参数的分布方程, 并用其讨论了\{s_NN\}^1/2=200GeV的Au+Au碰撞中的参与者数与核子-核子碰撞数随对心度的变化关系, 所得结果与PHENIX合作组所给出的实验结果符合得很好. 关键词： Glauber 模型 参与者数 核子-核子碰撞数     

Neutron–proton elliptic flow difference as a probe for the high density dependence of the symmetry energy

We employ an isospin dependent version of the QMD transport model to study the influence of the isospin dependent part of the nuclear matter equation of state and in-medium nucleon–nucleon cross-sections on the dynamics of heavy-ion collisions at intermediate energies. We find that the extraction of useful information on the isospin-dependent part of the equation of state of nuclear matter from proton or neutron elliptic flows is obstructed by their sensitivity to model parameters and in-medium values of nucleon–nucleon cross-sections. Opposite to that, neutron–proton elliptic flow difference shows little dependence on those variables while its dependence on the isospin asymmetric EoS is enhanced, making it more suitable for a model independent constraining of the high-density behaviour of asy-EoS. Comparison with existing experimental FOPI-LAND neutron–hydrogen data can be used to set an upper limit to the softness of asy-EoS. Successful constraining of the asy-EoS via neutron–proton elliptic flow difference will require experimental data of higher accuracy than presently available.     

The realistic QCD equation of state in relativistic heavy-ion collisions and the early Universe

The realistic equation of state of strongly interacting matter, that has been successfully applied in the recent hydrodynamic studies of hadron production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions at RHIC, is used in the Friedmann equation to determine the precise time evolution of thermodynamic parameters in the early Universe. A comparison with the results obtained with simple ideal-gas equations of state is made. The realistic equation of state describes a crossover rather than the first-order phase transition between the quark–gluon plasma and hadronic matter. Our numerical calculations show that small inhomogeneities of strongly interacting matter in the early Universe are moderately damped during such crossover.     

Scaling of hadron masses and widths in thermal models for ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions

By means of a simple rescaling, modifications of hadron masses and widths are incorporated into the thermal analysis of particle ratios in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. We find that moderate, up to 20%, changes of hadron masses do not spoil the quality of the fits, which remain as good as those obtained without modifications. Larger changes are not likely. The fits with the modified masses yield modified values of the optimal temperature and baryon chemical potential. In particular, with decreasing masses of all hadrons (except for pseudo-Goldstone bosons) the fitted values of the temperature and the baryon chemical potential are lowered, with the change approximately proportional to the scaling of masses. In addition, we find that the broadening of the hadron widths by less than a factor of two practically does not affect the fits.     

同位旋相关的核子碰撞截面的不同形式与核子的集体流

在详细比较同位旋相关的核子-核子碰撞截面的几种常用形式的基础上,利用IBUU模型, 分别对具有相同质量的⁶⁰Ca+⁶⁰Ca和⁶⁰Ni+⁶⁰Ni的中能重离子碰撞进行了模拟计算,定量地分析了碰撞过程中不同形式的同位旋相关的核子-核子碰撞截面对于核子的快度分布和集体流的影响.结果显示: 不同形式的核子碰撞截面,可以给出相差较大的核子的快度分布和横向流, 但在同一种截面形式下,对称势的变化对横向流的影响较小.这表明在新的动量相关的对称势下, 中能重离子碰撞中集体流对于截面的敏感性依然成立;同时表明,在相同的碰撞截面和对称势形式下, 当入射能量在平衡能附近时,入射粒子的中质比对核子在平面流的影响较大,反之,影响较小.     

Nuclear binding energy and symmetry energy of nuclear matter with modern nucleon–nucleon potentials

The binding energy of nuclear matter at zero temperature in the Brueckner–Hartree–Fock approximation with modern nucleon–nucleon potentials is studied. Both the standard and continuous choices of single particle energies are used. These modern nucleon–nucleon potentials fit the deuteron properties and are phase shifts equivalent. Comparison with other calculations is made. In addition we present results for the symmetry energy obtained with different potentials, which is of great importance in astrophysical calculation.     

Determination of the nucleon-nucleon interaction in the ImQMD model by nuclear reactions at the Fermi energy region

The nucleon-nucleon interaction is investigated by using the improved quantum molecular dynamic （ImQMD） model with three sets of parameters IQ1, IQ2 and IQ3, in which the corresponding incompressibility coefficients of nuclear matter are different. The charge distributions of fragments are calculated for various reaction systems at different incident energies. The parameters strongly affect the charge distributions and the fragment multiplicity spectrum below the threshold energy of nuclear multifragmentation. The fragment multiplicity spectrum for 238U＋197Au at 15 A MeV and the charge distributions for 129Xe＋12~Sn at 32 and 45 A MeV, and 197Au＋197Au at 35 A MeV are reproduced by the ImQMD model with the set of parameter IQ3. It is found that： 1） The charge distribution of the fragments and the fragment multiplicity spectrum are good observables for testing the model and the parameters. 2） The Fermi energy region is a sensitive energy region for studying nucleon-nucleon interaction.     

The neutron/proton ratio of squeezed-out nucleons and the high density behavior of the nuclear symmetry energy

Within a transport model it is shown that the neutron/proton ratio of squeezed-out nucleons perpendicular to the reaction plane, especially at high transverse momenta, in heavy-ion reactions induced by high energy neutron-rich nuclei can be a useful tool for studying the high density behavior of the nuclear symmetry energy.     

Investigation of experimental observables in search of the chiral magnetic effect in heavy-ion collisions in the STAR experiment

The chiral magnetic effect(CME)is a novel transport phenomenon,arising from the interplay between quantum anomalies and strong magnetic fields in chiral systems.In high-energy nuclear collisions,the CME may survive the expansion of the quark-gluon plasma fireball and be detected in experiments.Over the past two decades,experimental searches for the CME have attracted extensive interest at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider(RHIC)and the Large Hadron Collider(LHC).The main goal of this study is to investigate three pertinent experimental approaches:the$\gamma$correlator,the R correlator,and the signed balance functions.We exploit simple Monte Carlo simulations and a realistic event generator(EBE-AVFD)to verify the equivalence of the core components among these methods and to ascertain their sensitivities to the CME signal and the background contributions for the isobar collisions at the RHIC.     

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。     

Probing the nuclear symmetry energy with heavy-ion reactions induced by neutron-rich nuclei

Heavy-ion reactions induced by neutron-rich nuclei provide a unique means to investigate the equation of state of isospin-asymmetric nuclear matter, especially the density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy. In particular, recent analyses of the isospin diffusion data in heavy-ion reactions have already put a stringent constraint on the nuclear symmetry energy around the nuclear matter saturation density. We review this exciting result and discuss its implications on nuclear effective interactions and the neutron skin thickness of heavy nuclei. In addition, we also review the theoretical progress on probing the high density behaviors of the nuclear symmetry energy in heavy-ion reactions induced by high energy radioactive beams.      

Recent progress and new challenges in isospin physics with heavy-ion reactions

The ultimate goal of studying isospin physics via heavy-ion reactions with neutron-rich, stable and/or radioactive nuclei is to explore the isospin dependence of in-medium nuclear effective interactions and the equation of state of neutron-rich nuclear matter, particularly the isospin-dependent term in the equation of state, i.e., the density dependence of the symmetry energy. Because of its great importance for understanding many phenomena in both nuclear physics and astrophysics, the study of the density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy has been the main focus of the intermediate-energy heavy-ion physics community during the last decade, and significant progress has been achieved both experimentally and theoretically. In particular, a number of phenomena or observables have been identified as sensitive probes to the density dependence of nuclear symmetry energy. Experimental studies have confirmed some of these interesting isospin-dependent effects and allowed us to constrain relatively stringently the symmetry energy at sub-saturation densities. The impact of this constrained density dependence of the symmetry energy on the properties of neutron stars have also been studied, and they were found to be very useful for the astrophysical community. With new opportunities provided by the various radioactive beam facilities being constructed around the world, the study of isospin physics is expected to remain one of the forefront research areas in nuclear physics. In this report, we review the major progress achieved during the last decade in isospin physics with heavy ion reactions and discuss future challenges to the most important issues in this field.     

Isospin effects on squeeze-out flow in heavy-ion collisions

The squeeze-out flow in reactions of ¹²⁴Sn + ¹²⁴Sn and ¹²⁴Ba + ¹²⁴Ba at different incident energies for different impact parameters is investigated by means of an isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics model. For the first time, it is found that the more neutron-rich system (¹²⁴Sn + ¹²⁴Sn) exhibits weaker squeeze-out flow. This isospin dependence of the squeeze-out flow is shown to mainly result from the isospin dependence of nucleon-nucleon cross-section and the symmetry energy. Received: 14 March 2000 / Accepted: 29 September 2000     

Probing the medium effect and isospin dependence of the in-medium nucleon--nucleon cross section in heavy ion collisions

Probing in-medium nucleon-nucleon （NN） cross section σ1/NN（α） in heavy ion collisions has been investigated by means of the isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics （IQMD） with the isospin- and momentum-dependent interaction （IMDI（T））. It is found that there are the very obvious medium effect and the sensitive isospin-dependence of nuclear stopping R on the in-medium NN cross section α1/NN（α） in the nuclear reactions induced by halo-neutron projectile and the same-mass stable projectile. However, R induced by the neutron-halo projectile is obviously lower than that induced by the corresponding stable projectile. In particular, there is a very obvious dependence of R on the medium effect of σ1/NN（α） in the whole beam energy region for the above two kinds of projectiles. Therefore, the comparison between the results of R＇s in the reactions induced by the neutron-halo projectile and the corresponding same-mass stable projectile is a more favourable probe for extracting the information of σ1/NN（α） because of adding a new judgement.[第一段]     

Isospin effect of the in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross section in excited nuclear reactions

Using relativistic mean field theory, the neutron and the proton density distribution of ⁵⁶Ni nuclei could be obtained in the ground state and the excited state. Based on the framework of the quantum molecular dynamics model, the ⁵⁶Ni nuclei have been simulated in ground state and in the neutron or proton excited state. We then used the three different states of ⁵⁶Ni to collide with the ⁵⁶Ni in the ground state. To discuss the evolution of the nuclear stopping in different reactions, two kinds of different excited nuclear reactions were studied at different reaction energies and at different impact parameters. Studies have shown that the nuclear stopping of an excited nuclear reaction is sensitive to the isospin-dependent in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross section, compared with the response value of the ground state nuclear reaction. So, it is better for the excited nuclei to extract the isospin dependence of nucleon-nucleon cross section information.     

Isospin effect of the in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross section in excited nuclear reactions

Using relativistic mean field theory, the neutron and the proton density distribution of 56Ni nuclei could be obtained in the ground state and the excited state. Based on the framework of the quantum molecular dynamics model, the 56Ni nuclei have been simulated in ground state and in the neutron or proton excited state. We then used the three different states of 56Ni to collide with the 56Ni in the ground state. To discuss the evolution of the nuclear stopping in different reactions, two kinds of different excited nuclear reactions were studied at different reaction energies and at different impact parameters. Studies have shown that the nuclear stopping of an excited nuclear reaction is sensitive to the isospin-dependent in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross section, compared with the response value of the ground state nuclear reaction. So, it is better for the excited nuclei to extract the isospin dependence of nucleon-nucleon cross section information.     

Testing Dirac-Brueckner models in collective flow of heavy-ion collisions

We investigate differential in-plane and out-of-plane flow observables in heavy-ion reactions at intermediate energies from 0.2-2 AGeV within the framework of relativistic BUU transport calculations. The mean field is based on microscopic Dirac-Brueckner-Hartree-Fock (DB) calculations. We apply two different sets of DB predictions, those of ter Haar and Malfliet and more recent ones from the Tübingen group, which are similar in general but differ in details. The latter DB calculations exclude spurious contributions from the negative-energy sector to the mean field which results in a slightly softer equation of state and a less repulsive momentum dependence of the nucleon-nucleus potential at high densities and high momenta. For the application to heavy-ion collisions in both cases non-equilibrium features of the phase space are taken into account on the level of the effective interaction. The systematic comparison to experimental data favours the less repulsive and softer model. Relative to non-relativistic approaches one obtains larger values of the effective nucleon mass. This produces a sufficient amount of repulsion to describe the differential flow data reasonably well. Received: 8 January 2001 / Accepted: 12 November 2001     

Effect of shell structure on energy dissipation in heavy-ion collisions

The effect of shell structure on the distribution of the excitation energy between fragments of the deep inelastic collisions is analysed in the microscopic approach. It is shown that the density of the single-particle levels of the proton and neutron subsystems near the Fermi surface determines the ratio between the excitation energies of fragments at the initial stage of the collision. It is shown also that the shell structure strongly influences the correlations between the width of the charge distributions and the total kinetic energy losses. Calculations are performed for the ^40,48Ca+²⁴⁸Cm reactions. The results obtained suggest a possible interpretation for the observed concentration of the excitation energy in the light fragment in deep inelastic collisions for a wide range of the total kinetic energy losses. Received: 27 July 1999 / Accepted: 29 March 2000     

核物质对称能和重离子碰撞中径向流阈能的同位旋效应

基于同位旋相关的量子分子动力学模型，采用三种不同形式的对称势，研究了¹²⁴Sn+¹²⁴Sn和¹²⁴Ba+¹²⁴Ba对心碰撞时在三种不同对称势下的径向膨胀流，发现径向膨胀流阈能与所采用的对称能形式密切相关，表现出明显同位旋效应，预示着径向膨胀流阈能的同位旋相关性可作为对称能的灵敏探针. 关键词： 径向膨胀流阈能 同位旋效应 重离子碰撞 同位旋相关的量子分子动力学模型