Elliptic flow from final state interactions in the distorted-wave emission-function model

TL;DR

This paper investigates how final state interactions influence the elliptic flow coefficient in relativistic heavy ion collisions using the DWEF model, highlighting their moderate impact and importance for accurate predictions.

Contribution

It demonstrates that final state interactions have a moderate effect on elliptic flow and must be considered for precise modeling in heavy ion collision experiments.

Findings

Final state interactions moderately affect elliptic flow v_2.

Optical potential fitting RHIC data influences v_2 predictions.

Inclusion of final state interactions improves prediction accuracy to within ~20%.

Abstract

The effect of final state interactions on the elliptic flow coefficient measured in relativistic heavy ion collisions is investigated within the DWEF formalism established by Miller and Cramer [Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 102302 (2005), J. Phys. G34, 703 (2007), Phys. Rev. C78, 054905 (2008)]. It is found that the optical potential previously found to give the best fit of particle multiplicity and Hanbury Brown and Twiss radii in RHIC events has a moderate effect on the resulting elliptic flow coefficient v_2. This indicates that final state interactions should be taken into account to confidently predict v_2 to better than ~20% accuracy.