Isospin emission and flows at high baryon density: a test of the symmetry potential

TL;DR

This paper investigates how isospin-sensitive observables in high-energy heavy ion collisions can reveal properties of nuclear matter at high density, focusing on symmetry energy and effective mass splitting, with implications for astrophysics.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive analysis of isospin observables using transport simulations to probe symmetry potential effects at high baryon density.

Findings

Sensitivity of observables to symmetry energy stiffness and momentum dependence.

Insights into neutron/proton effective mass splitting at high densities.

Recommendations for new experimental approaches.

Abstract

High energy Heavy Ion Collisions (HIC) are studied in order to access nuclear matter properties at high density. Particular attention is paid to the selection of observables sensitive to the poorly known symmetry energy at high baryon density, of large fundamental interest, even for the astrophysics implications. Using fully consistent transport simulations built on effective theories we test isospin observables ranging from nucleon/cluster emissions to collective flows (in particular the elliptic, squeeze out, part). The effects of the competition between stiffness and momentum dependence of the Symmetry Potential on the reaction dynamics are thoroughly analyzed. In this way we try to shed light on the controversial neutron/proton effective mass splitting at high baryon and isospin densities. New, more exclusive, experiments are suggested.