3-dimensional flow analysis: A novel tool to study the collision geometry and the Equation-of-State

TL;DR

This paper introduces new three-dimensional flow coefficients based on angular distributions in heavy-ion collisions, providing enhanced sensitivity to the nuclear Equation-of-State for better exploration of nuclear matter properties.

Contribution

The paper develops novel 3D flow coefficients $u_n$ and $w_n$ that extend traditional flow analysis, offering improved sensitivity to the nuclear Equation-of-State.

Findings

New flow coefficients $u_n$ and $w_n$ are highly sensitive to the EoS.

Application of UrQMD model to Au+Au collisions demonstrates the effectiveness of these coefficients.

Enhanced analysis tools for studying nuclear matter properties in heavy-ion collisions.

Abstract

We propose to extend the commonly known flow analysis in the transverse $p_x$-$p_y$ plane to novel flow coefficients based on the angular distribution in the $p_x$-$p_z$ and $p_y$-$p_z$ planes. The new flow coefficients, called $u_n$ and $w_n$ (in addition to $v_n$), turn out to be also highly sensitive to the nuclear Equation-of-State and can be used to explore the EoS in more detail than is possible using only $v_n$. As an example to quantify the effect of the EoS, the Ultra-relativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics (UrQMD) model is used to investigate 20-30\% central Au+Au collisions at E$_\mathrm{lab}=1.23~A$GeV.