2025/10/09 by Hui Zhang, Zhang, Hui, Alex Akridge +7 · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex) #High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph) #High-Energy Particle Collisions Research #Nuclear Experiment (nucl-ex) #Nuclear Theory (nucl-th) #Nuclear physics research studies #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2510.07816
openalex publication_date 2025/10/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/11 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Understanding how protons and neutrons are located differently in an atomic nucleus can provide fundamental information on nuclear structure and have far-reaching implications for astrophysics. A precise determination of this important difference, often quantified by the so-called neutron skin thickness, is challenging both theoretically and experimentally. Here we show how one can use a new category of observables in heavy ion collisions to probe the neutron skin thickness of nuclei like 208Pb and 48Ca, by utilizing the asymmetry between neutrons and protons of spectator nucleons in super-central collisions as well as that of participant nucleons in peripheral collisions. Using quantitative simulations, we demonstrate their sensitivity and great potential in constraining neutron skin thickness for both 208Pb and 48Ca nuclei in these extreme event geometries. Furthermore, we propose the asymmetric collisions between 48Ca and 40Ca nuclei as a unique and powerful way to nail down the neutron skin thickness.