System dependence of away-side broadening and $\alpha$-clustering light nuclei structure effect in dihadron azimuthal correlations

TL;DR

This study investigates how the structure of light nuclei, especially $ ext{α}$-clustering, affects dihadron azimuthal correlations in high-energy collisions, revealing potential signatures to distinguish nuclear configurations.

Contribution

It demonstrates that $ ext{α}$-clustering in light nuclei causes deviations in azimuthal correlation broadening, providing a novel probe for nuclear structure effects in collision experiments.

Findings

Deviations from $A^{-1/3}$ law in $ ext{α}$-clustered nuclei

Distinct away-side broadening parameters for different nuclear structures

Momentum dependence observed in azimuthal correlation broadening

Abstract

A collision system scan involving $\alpha$-clustered $^{12}$C and $^{16}$O is studied by using a multiphase transport model for central collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 6.37$ TeV. Background subtracted away-side dihadron azimuthal correlation is performed via the zero yield at minimum (ZYAM) method from raw signals, and the quantitative parameters, such as RMS width and Kurtosis, seem nicely follow the $A^{-1/3}$ law of the system size if the nucleus has the normal Woods-Saxon nucleon distribution. However, for $\alpha$-clustering light nuclei, specifically for $^{12}$C and $^{16}$O, the RMS width and Kurtosis of away-side azimuthal correlation are deviated from the baseline of $A^{-1/3}$ law. In addition, the momentum dependence of away-side broadening parameters is also presented. The results show that there is a distinction in away-side broadening parameters of dihadron correlation function between the Woods-Saxon distribution and the $\alpha$-clustered structures, which sheds light on that the collision system scan for dihadron azimuthal correlation as a potential probe to distinguish $\alpha$-clustered nuclei.