Triangular flow in hydrodynamics and transport theory

Journal Article · Wed Sep 15 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVC.82.034913· OSTI ID:21419552

Alver, Burak Han ^[1]; Gombeaud, Clement; Luzum, Matthew; Ollitrault, Jean-Yves ^[2]

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1. Laboratory for Nuclear Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139-4307 (United States)
2. CNRS, URA2306, IPhT, Institut de physique theorique de Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France)

In ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions, the Fourier decomposition of the relative azimuthal angle, {Delta}{phi}, distribution of particle pairs yields a large cos(3{Delta}{phi}) component, extending to large rapidity separations {Delta}{eta}>1. This component captures a significant portion of the ridge and shoulder structures in the {Delta}{phi} distribution, which have been observed after contributions from elliptic flow are subtracted. An average finite triangularity owing to event-by-event fluctuations in the initial matter distribution, followed by collective flow, naturally produces a cos(3{Delta}{phi}) correlation. Using ideal and viscous hydrodynamics and transport theory, we study the physics of triangular (v{sub 3}) flow in comparison to elliptic (v{sub 2}), quadrangular (v{sub 4}), and pentagonal (v{sub 5}) flow. We make quantitative predictions for v{sub 3} at RHIC and LHC as a function of centrality and transverse momentum. Our results for the centrality dependence of v{sub 3} show a quantitative agreement with data extracted from previous correlation measurements by the STAR collaboration. This study supports previous results on the importance of triangular flow in the understanding of ridge and shoulder structures. Triangular flow is found to be a sensitive probe of initial geometry fluctuations and viscosity.

• OSTI ID: 21419552
• Journal Information: Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics, Vol. 82, Issue 3; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevC.82.034913; (c) 2010 The American Physical Society; ISSN 0556-2813
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
BROOKHAVEN RHIC
CAPTURE
CERN LHC
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CORRELATIONS
DECOMPOSITION
DISTRIBUTION
FLUCTUATIONS
FORECASTING
FOURIER TRANSFORMATION
HEAVY ION REACTIONS
HYDRODYNAMICS
PARTICLE RAPIDITY
RELATIVISTIC RANGE
SIMULATION
TRANSPORT THEORY
TRANSVERSE MOMENTUM
ACCELERATORS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CYCLIC ACCELERATORS
ENERGY RANGE
EVALUATION
FLUID MECHANICS
HEAVY ION ACCELERATORS
INTEGRAL TRANSFORMATIONS
LINEAR MOMENTUM
MECHANICS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
PARTICLE PROPERTIES
STORAGE RINGS
SYNCHROTRONS
TRANSFORMATIONS
VARIATIONS