Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Nonequilibrium and quantal aspects of relativistic heavy ion collisions

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:5211545
The approach to local kinetic equilibrium in relativistic heavy ion collisions is studied by following the time evolution of the Wigner function in configuration and momentum space using the Vlasov-Uehling-Uhlenbeck theory. This theoretical approach includes the nuclear mean field, two body collisions, particle production, relativistic kinematics, and the Pauli principle in a microscopic model. A Newtonian Force Model, Time Dependent Hartree Fock, the Vlasov equation, intranuclear cascade, and macroscopic nuclear fluid dynamics are studied as reference cases. Density, temperature, and entropy of the interacting nuclei are extracted. The formation of complex nuclear fragments is studied by applying a six dimensional coalescence model to the final state. The conjectured nuclear liquid-vapor phase transition is examined. The theory is compared to recent data mainly from the GSI/LBL Plastic Ball collaboration. The pion yields, transverse momentum transfer, and kinetic energy flow effects are found to be sensitive to possibility of extracting the nuclear equation of state from the data. Preliminary evidence for a surprisingly stiff nuclear equation of state is presented.
Research Organization:
Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor (USA)
OSTI ID:
5211545
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English