Isospin effects on subthreshold kaon production at intermediate energies.
Phys Rev Lett
; 97(20): 202301, 2006 Nov 17.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-17155678
ABSTRACT
We show that in collisions with neutron-rich heavy ions at energies around the production threshold K0 and K+ yields probe the isospin-dependent part of the nuclear equation of state at high baryon densities. In particular, we suggest the K0/K+ ratio as a promising observable. Results obtained in a covariant relativistic transport approach are presented for Au+Au collisions at 0.8-1.8A GeV. The focus is put on the equation of state influence which goes beyond the collision-cascade picture. The isovector part of the in-medium interaction affects the kaon multiplicities via two mechanisms (i) a symmetry potential effect, i.e., a larger neutron repulsion in n-rich systems, and (ii) a threshold effect, due to the change in the self-energies of the particles involved in inelastic processes. Genuine relativistic contributions are revealed that could allow one to directly "measure" the Lorentz structure of the effective isovector interaction.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
Phys Rev Lett
Year:
2006
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Italy