In this Review article, a brief description of the stochastic mean-field (SMF) theory for describing reaction dynamics in low-energy heavy-ion collisions at bombarding energies in the vicinity of the Coulomb barrier is presented. In these collisions, as a result of strong Pauli blocking, binary nucleon collisions do not have a significant effect on the dissipation and fluctuations. At low energies, the mean-field fluctuations, due to initial correlations, have a dominant effect on fluctuations of macroscopic variables. The SMF theory proposes the determination of an ensemble of single-particle density matrices by specifying random initial fluctuations according to a distribution law. Employing an ensemble of single-particle density matrices, not only the mean values but also the distribution functions of the one-body observables can be determined. If the di-nuclear structure is maintained in heavy-ion collisions, such as deep inelastic collisions and fast quasi-fission reactions, a much simpler description of the reaction mechanism can be derived in terms of several macroscopic variables such as mass and charge asymmetry, and relative linear and relative angular momentum. In this case, by geometric projection of the SMF equations, it is possible to derive the quantal Langevin equations for macroscopic variables. As an application of quantal transport description, an analysis of multinucleon transfers and kinetic energy dissipation and fluctuations is presented for selected quasi-fission reactions.
Ayik, S., et al. "Stochastic mean-field theory and applications to multinucleon transfer and kinetic energy dissipation processes in heavy-ion collisions." European Physical Journal. A, Hadrons and Nuclei (Online), vol. 62, no. 3, Mar. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/s10050-026-01800-z
Ayik, S., Arik, M., Yilmaz, O., & Umar, A. S. (2026). Stochastic mean-field theory and applications to multinucleon transfer and kinetic energy dissipation processes in heavy-ion collisions. European Physical Journal. A, Hadrons and Nuclei (Online), 62(3). https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/s10050-026-01800-z
Ayik, S., Arik, M., Yilmaz, O., et al., "Stochastic mean-field theory and applications to multinucleon transfer and kinetic energy dissipation processes in heavy-ion collisions," European Physical Journal. A, Hadrons and Nuclei (Online) 62, no. 3 (2026), https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/s10050-026-01800-z
@article{osti_3022909,
author = {Ayik, S. and Arik, M. and Yilmaz, O. and Umar, A. S.},
title = {Stochastic mean-field theory and applications to multinucleon transfer and kinetic energy dissipation processes in heavy-ion collisions},
annote = {In this Review article, a brief description of the stochastic mean-field (SMF) theory for describing reaction dynamics in low-energy heavy-ion collisions at bombarding energies in the vicinity of the Coulomb barrier is presented. In these collisions, as a result of strong Pauli blocking, binary nucleon collisions do not have a significant effect on the dissipation and fluctuations. At low energies, the mean-field fluctuations, due to initial correlations, have a dominant effect on fluctuations of macroscopic variables. The SMF theory proposes the determination of an ensemble of single-particle density matrices by specifying random initial fluctuations according to a distribution law. Employing an ensemble of single-particle density matrices, not only the mean values but also the distribution functions of the one-body observables can be determined. If the di-nuclear structure is maintained in heavy-ion collisions, such as deep inelastic collisions and fast quasi-fission reactions, a much simpler description of the reaction mechanism can be derived in terms of several macroscopic variables such as mass and charge asymmetry, and relative linear and relative angular momentum. In this case, by geometric projection of the SMF equations, it is possible to derive the quantal Langevin equations for macroscopic variables. As an application of quantal transport description, an analysis of multinucleon transfers and kinetic energy dissipation and fluctuations is presented for selected quasi-fission reactions.},
doi = {10.1140/epja/s10050-026-01800-z},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/3022909},
journal = {European Physical Journal. A, Hadrons and Nuclei (Online)},
issn = {ISSN 1434-601X},
number = {3},
volume = {62},
place = {United States},
publisher = {Springer Nature},
year = {2026},
month = {03}}
Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0013847
OSTI ID:
3022909
Journal Information:
European Physical Journal. A, Hadrons and Nuclei (Online), Journal Name: European Physical Journal. A, Hadrons and Nuclei (Online) Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 62; ISSN 1434-601X
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 859https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2017.01.069