Y. Leifels

Central collisions of Au on Au at 150, 250 and 400 A·MeV

Abstract Collisions of Au on Au at incident energies of 150, 250 and 400 A ·MeV were studied with the FOPI-facility at GSI Darmstadt. Nuclear charge ( Z ⩽ 15) and velocity of the products were detected with full azimuthal acceptance at laboratory angles 1° ⩽ θ lab ⩽ 30°. Isotope separated light charged particles were measured with movable multiple telescopes in an angular range of 6–90°. Central collisions representing about 1% of the reaction cross section were selected by requiring high total transverse energy, but vanishing side flow. The velocity space distributions and yields of the emitted fragments are reported. the data are analysed in terms of a thermal model including radial flow. A comparison with predictions of the quantum molecular model is presented.

On the transverse momentum distribution of strange hadrons produced in relativistic heavy ion collisions

Particles with strange quark content produced in the system 1.93A·GeV58Ni on58Ni have been investigated at GSI Darmstadt with the FOPI detector system. The correlation of these produced particles was analyzed with respect to the reaction plane.Λ baryons exhibit a very pronounced sideward flow pattern which is qualitatively similar to the proton flow. However, the kaon (K+,Ks0) flow patterns are significantly different from that of the protons, and their form may be useful to restrict theoretical models on the form of the kaon potential in the nuclear medium.

Isospin-dependent multifragmentation of relativistic projectiles

The N/Z dependence of projectile fragmentation at relativistic energies has been studied with the ALADIN forward spectrometer at the GSI Schwerionen Synchrotron (SIS). Stable and radioactive Sn and La beams with an incident energy of 600 MeV per nucleon have been used in order to explore a wide range of isotopic compositions. For the interpretation of the data, calculations with the statistical multifragmentation model for a properly chosen ensemble of excited sources were performed. The parameters of the ensemble, representing the variety of excited spectator nuclei expected in a participant-spectator scenario, are determined empirically by searching for an optimum reproduction of the measured fragment-charge distributions and correlations. An overall very good agreement is obtained. The possible modification of the liquid-drop parameters of the fragment description in the hot freeze-out environment is studied, and a significant reduction of the symmetry-term coefficient is found necessary to reproduce the mean neutron-to-proton ratios /Z and the isoscaling parameters of Z{<=}10 fragments. The calculations are, furthermore, used to address open questions regarding the modification of the surface-term coefficient at freeze-out, the N/Z dependence of the nuclear caloric curve, and the isotopic evolution of the spectator system between its formation during the initial cascade stage ofmorexa0» the reaction and its subsequent breakup.«xa0less

Isotopic dependence of the nuclear caloric curve

The A/Z dependence of projectile fragmentation at relativistic energies has been studied with the ALADIN forward spectrometer at SIS. A stable beam of (124)Sn and radioactive beams of (124)La and (107)Sn at 600 MeV per nucleon have been used in order to explore a wide range of isotopic compositions. Chemical freeze-out temperatures are found to be nearly invariant with respect to the A/Z of the produced spectator sources, consistent with predictions for expanded systems. Small Coulomb effects (DeltaT approximately 0.6 MeV) appear for residue production near the onset of multifragmentation.

Results of the ASY-EOS experiment at GSI : the symmetry energy at suprasaturation density

Directed and elliptic flows of neutrons and light charged particles were measured for the reaction 197Au+197Au at 400 MeV/nucleon incident energy within the ASY-EOS experimental campaign at the GSI laboratory. The detection system consisted of the Large Area Neutron Detector LAND, combined with parts of the CHIMERA multidetector, of the ALADIN Time-of-flight Wall, and of the Washington-University Microball detector. The latter three arrays were used for the event characterization and reaction-plane reconstruction. In addition, an array of triple telescopes, KRATTA, was used for complementary measurements of the isotopic composition and flows of light charged particles. From the comparison of the elliptic flow ratio of neutrons with respect to charged particles with UrQMD predictions, a value gamma = 0.72 pm 0.19 is obtained for the power-law coefficient describing the density dependence of the potential part in the parametrization of the symmetry energy. It represents a new and more stringent constraint for the regime of supra-saturation density and confirms, with a considerably smaller uncertainty, the moderately soft to linear density dependence deduced from the earlier FOPI-LAND data. The densities probed are shown to reach beyond twice saturation.

Differential neutron–proton squeeze-out

Abstract The elliptic flow (squeeze-out) of neutrons, protons and light complex particles in reactions of neutron-rich systems at relativistic energies is proposed as an observable, sensitive to the strength of the symmetry term in the equation of state at supra-normal densities. Preliminary results from a study of the existing FOPI/LAND data for 197Auxa0+xa0197Au collisions at 400 A MeV with the UrQMD model favor a moderately soft symmetry term with a density dependence of the potential term proportional to ( ρ / ρ 0 ) γ with γ = 0.6 ± 0.3 .

Flow angle from intermediate mass fragment measurements

Abstract Directed sideward flow of light charged particles and intermediate mass fragments was measured in different symmetric reactions at bombarding energies from 90 to 800 A MeV. The flow parameter is found to increase with the charge of the detected fragment up to Z = 3–4 and then turns into saturation for heavier fragments. Guided by simple simulations of an anisotropic expanding thermal source, we show that the value at saturation can provide a good estimate of the flow angle, Θflow, in the participant region. It is found that Θflow depends strongly on the impact parameter. The excitation function of Θfolw reveals striking deviations from the ideal hydrodynamical scaling. The data exhibit a steep rise of Θflow to a maximum at around 250 – 400 A MeV, followed by a moderate decrease as the bombarding energy increases further.

Azimuthal Emission Patterns of

Azimuthal emission patterns of

K^{+}

K^pm

and of

mesons have been measured in Ni + Ni collisions with the FOPI spectrometer at a beam kinetic energy of 1.91 A GeV. The transverse momentum