Cluster and hyper-cluster production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions within the Parton-Hadron-Quantum-Molecular-Dynamics approach

TL;DR

This paper employs the PHQMD microscopic transport model to study the dynamic formation of clusters and hypernuclei in relativistic heavy-ion collisions, comparing results with experimental data and providing predictions for future experiments.

Contribution

It introduces the PHQMD approach for dynamically modeling cluster formation in heavy-ion collisions, integrating it with existing models and providing new insights into hypernuclei production.

Findings

PHQMD successfully reproduces experimental cluster yields.

Predictions for cluster production at FAIR and NICA energies.

Insights into the formation and survival of weakly bound objects in hot dense environments.

Abstract

We study cluster and hypernuclei production in heavy-ion collisions at relativistic energies employing the Parton-Hadron-Quantum-Molecular-Dynamics (PHQMD) approach, a microscopic n-body transport model based on the QMD propagation of the baryonic degrees of freedom with density dependent 2-body potential interactions. All other ingredients of PHQMD, including the collision integral and the treatment of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) phase, are adopted from the Parton-Hadron-String Dynamics (PHSD) approach. In PHQMD the cluster formation occurs dynamically, caused by the interactions. The clusters are recognized by the Minimum Spanning Tree (MST) algorithm. We present the PHQMD results for cluster and hypernuclei formation in comparison with the available experimental data at AGS, SPS, RHIC-BES and RHIC fixed target energies. We also provide predictions on cluster production for the upcoming FAIR and NICA experiments. PHQMD allows to study the time evolution of formed clusters and the origin of their production, which helps to understand how such weakly bound objects are formed and survive in the rather dense and hot environment created in heavy-ion collisions. It offers therefore an explanation of the 'ice in the fire' puzzle.