Constraining the quadrupole deformation of atomic nuclei with relativistic nuclear collisions

2020/04/30 by Giuliano Giacalone
Physics and Astronomy · #nucl-th #hep-ex #hep-ph #nucl-ex

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevc.102.024901

published as Phys. Rev. C 102, 024901 (2020) · follows up on arXiv:1910.04673. v1: 18 pages; 14 figures; v2: 18 pages; 15 figures; Overall minor improvements. Removed preliminary STAR data points at the request of the experimental collaboration; v3: published version

arxiv created 2021/02/22 · arxiv updated 2021/02/23

Abstract

Preliminary data by the STAR collaboration at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider shows that the elliptic flow, v₂, and the average transverse momentum, ⟨ p_t ⟩, of final-state hadrons produced in high-multiplicity ²³⁸U+²³⁸U collisions are negatively correlated. This observation brings experimental evidence of a significant prolate deformation, β≈ 0.3, in the colliding ²³⁸U nuclei. I show that a quantitative description of this new phenomenon can be achieved within the hydrodynamic framework of heavy-ion collisions, and that thus such kind of data in the context of high-energy nuclear experiments can help constrain the quadrupole deformation of the colliding species.

Citations

• Observing the deformation of nuclei with relativistic nuclear collisions