Probing the tetrahedral $\alpha$ clusters in relativistic $^{16}$O + $^{16}$O collisions

TL;DR

This study investigates how multi-nucleon correlations and nuclear configurations, such as tetrahedral symmetry, influence observables in relativistic $^{16}$O + $^{16}$O collisions, aiding the understanding of nuclear structure and model refinement.

Contribution

It isolates the impact of multi-nucleon correlations in relativistic collisions while controlling for one-body density, introducing normalized ratios as effective probes of nuclear configurations.

Findings

Normalized ratios effectively probe nuclear configurations and correlations.

Tetrahedral symmetry influences collective flow observables.

Results provide constraints for refining heavy-ion collision models.

Abstract

Relativistic $^{16}$O +$^{16}$O collisions probe the Quark-Gluon Plasma formed in small systems, while their collective phenomena illuminate the structure of $^{16}$O. Recently, various configurations of $^{16}$O from \textit{ab initio} calculations were implemented in heavy-ion models, such as the hydrodynamic model and a multiphase transport model (AMPT) to study cluster effects in relativistic $^{16}$O +$^{16}$O collisions. However, divergent predictions across configurations and models complicate interpretations. In this Letter, we isolate the impact of multi-nucleon correlations in relativistic $^{16}$O +$^{16}$O collisions while fixing the one-body density distribution of $^{16}$O. Our results show that the normalized ratios ${\rm Norm}(v_{2}\{2\}/v_{2}\{4\})$ and ${\rm Norm}(v_{2}\{2\}/v_{3}\{2\})$ effectively probe the effects of one-body density (e.g., tetrahedral symmetry) and multi-nucleon correlations (e.g., $\alpha$ clusters). These observables provide critical constraints for refining heavy-ion models, essential for investigating cluster configurations in light nuclei through relativistic heavy-ion collisions.