English

Measuring neutron skin by grazing isobaric collisions

Nuclear Theory 2022-01-07 v2 Nuclear Experiment

Abstract

Neutron skin thickness (Δrnp\Delta r_{\rm np}) of nuclei and the inferred nuclear symmetry energy are of critical importance to nuclear physics and astrophysics. It is traditionally measured by nuclear processes with significant theoretical uncertainties. We recently proposed an indirect measurement of the Δrnp\Delta r_{\rm np} by charged hadron multiplicities in central isobaric collisions at relativistic energies, which are sensitive to nuclear densities. In this Letter, we propose a direct measurement of the Δrnp\Delta r_{\rm np} by using net-charge multiplicities in ultra-peripheral (grazing) collisions of those isobars, under the assumption that they are simple superimposition of nucleon-nucleon interactions. We illustrate this novel approach by the TRENTO and URQMD models.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2105.04052,
  title  = {Measuring neutron skin by grazing isobaric collisions},
  author = {Hao-jie Xu and Hanlin Li and Ying Zhou and Xiaobao Wang and Jie Zhao and Lie-Wen Chen and Fuqiang Wang},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2105.04052},
  year   = {2022}
}

Comments

5 pages, 4 figures, version published in PRC