Journal article

Publication year: 2002

Pages: 357-369

Journal: Nuclear Physics A: Nuclear and Hadronic Physics

Volume number: 712

Issue number: 3-4

ISSN: 0375-9474

eISSN: 1873-1554

Open access status: Green

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0375-9474(02)01287-3

Publisher: Elsevier

Abstract: 
We study the proton sideward and elliptic differential flow for Au + An collisions at AGS energies (2-8 A GeV) in a microscopic relativistic transport model that includes all baryon resonances up to a mass of 2 GeV as well as string degrees of freedom for the higher hadronic excitations. In order to explore the sensitivity of the various differential flows to the nuclear equation of state (EoS) we use three different parameterizations of the scalar and vector mean-fields, i.e., NL2 (soft), NL23 (medium) and NU (hard), with their momentum dependence fitted to the experimental Schrodinger equivalent potential (at normal nuclear matter density rho(0)) up to kinetic energies of 1 GeV. We calculate the excitation function of sideward and elliptic flow within. these parameter sets for An + Au collisions and compare with the recent data from the E895 Collaboration as a function of rapidity, impact parameter and transverse momentum, respectively. We find that the best description of the differential data is provided by a rather 'stiff' EoS at 2 A GeV (NL3) while at higher bombarding energies (4-8 A GeV) a 'medium' EoS leads to the lowest chi(2) with respect to the data. However, the differences in the transverse and elliptic flows (from the different parameter sets) become of minor significance at 4-8 A GeV. We attribute this insensitivity to a similar reduction of the vector potential in all models and to the dominance of string degrees of freedom at these bombarding energies. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Harvard Citation style: Sahu, P. and Cassing, W. (2002) Differential flow of protons in Au plus Au collisions at AGS energies, Nuclear Physics A: Nuclear and Hadronic Physics, 712(3-4), Article PII S0375-9474(02)01287-3. pp. 357-369. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0375-9474(02)01287-3

APA Citation style: Sahu, P., & Cassing, W. (2002). Differential flow of protons in Au plus Au collisions at AGS energies. Nuclear Physics A: Nuclear and Hadronic Physics. 712(3-4), Article PII S0375-9474(02)01287-3, 357-369. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0375-9474(02)01287-3