Accessing the shape of atomic nuclei with relativistic collisions of isobars

Journal Article · 20 October 2021 · Physical Review. C

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevc.104.l041903 · OSTI ID:1979845

Giacalone, Giuliano  ^[1]; Jia, Jiangyong ^[2]; Somà, Vittorio ^[3]

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1. Univ. Heidelberg (Germany); OSTI
2. Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States); Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
3. Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA-Saclay), Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Univ. Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette (France)

Nuclides sharing the same mass number (isobars) are observed ubiquitously along the stability line. While having nearly identical radii, stable isobars can differ in shape, and present different quadrupole deformations. We show that even small differences in these deformations can be probed by relativistic nuclear collisions experiments, where they manifest as deviations from unity in the ratios of elliptic flow coefficients taken between isobaric systems. Collider experiments with isobars represent, thus, a unique means to gain precise knowledge of the geometric shape of atomic nuclei.

• Research Organization: State Univ. of New York (SUNY), Albany, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC); German Research Foundation (DFG); National Science Foundation (NSF)
• Grant/Contract Number: FG02-87ER40331
• OSTI ID: 1979845
• Journal Information: Physical Review. C, Journal Name: Physical Review. C Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 104; ISSN 2469-9985
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English