119326646
Medium effects on the flow of strange particles in heavy-ion collisions
Strange particles such as the kaon and lambda are useful in probing the properties of dense matter formed in heavy-ion collisions. Here we review the theoretical understanding of their properties in a nuclear medium based on both the effective chiral Lagrangian and the phenomenological hadronic model. We further review the effects due to changes in their in-medium properties on their collective flow in heavy-ion collisions.
15375821
Rapidity and system size dependence of anisotropic flows in relativistic heavy ion collisions
We report results from a multiphase transport (AMPT) model on the rapidity and system size dependence of charged hadron anisotropic flows in nuclear collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC).
39436824
J/psi absorption by nucleons in the meson-exchange model
We reinvestigate the $J/\ensuremath{\psi}$ dissociation processes induced by the reactions with nucleons, $J/\ensuremath{\psi}+N\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\overline{D}}^{(*)}+{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}_{c}$, in the meson-exchange model. Main constraints used in this work are vector-meson dominance and charm vector-current conservation. We show that the cross section for $J/\ensuremath{\psi}+N\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\overline{D}+{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}_{c}$ can be larger than that for $J/\ensuremath{\psi}+N\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\overline{D}}^{*}+{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}_{c}$ when these constraints are imposed. The dependence of the cross sections on the coupling constants is analyzed in detail, and the comparison with the recent quark-interchange model predictions is also made.
118590053
Recent Progress and New Challenges in Isospin Physics with Heavy-Ion Reactions
The ultimate goal of studying isospin physics via heavy-ion reactions with neutron-rich, stable and/or radioactive nuclei is to explore the isospin dependence of in-medium nuclear effective interactions and the equation of state of neutron-rich nuclear matter, particularly the isospin-dependent term in the equation of state, i.e., the density dependence of the symmetry energy. Because of its great importance for understanding many phenomena in both nuclear physics and astrophysics, the study of the density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy has been the main focus of the intermediate-energy heavy-ion physics community during the last decade, and significant progress has been achieved both experimentally and theoretically. In particular, a number of phenomena or observables have been identified as sensitive probes to the density dependence of nuclear symmetry energy. Experimental studies have confirmed some of these interesting isospin-dependent effects and allowed us to constrain relatively stringently the symmetry energy at sub-saturation densities. The impact of this constrained density dependence of the symmetry energy on the properties of neutron stars have also been studied, and they were found to be very useful for the astrophysical community. With new opportunities provided by the various radioactive beam facilities being constructed around the world, the study of isospin physics is expected to remain one of the forefront research areas in nuclear physics. In this report, we review the major progress achieved during the last decade in isospin physics with heavy ion reactions and discuss future challenges to the most important issues in this field.
118880072
Quark coalescence for charmed mesons in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions
Abstract We investigate effects of charm-quark interactions in a quark–gluon plasma on the production of D and J / ψ mesons in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. Employing a previously constructed coalescence model that successfully reproduces the transverse momentum ( p T ) spectra and elliptic flow ( v 2 ( p T ) ) of light hadrons at RHIC from underlying light-quark distributions at the phase transition temperature  T c , D -meson and J / ψ p T -spectra are evaluated. For the charm-quark distributions, we consider two limiting scenarios: (i) no rescattering, corresponding to perturbative QCD (pQCD) spectra and (ii) complete thermalization including transverse expansion. We find that D -mesons acquire a minimal v 2 inherited from their light-quark content and corresponding semileptonic decay spectra of single electrons practically preserve the v 2 of the parent particles, exhibiting marked differences between the pQCD and thermal scenarios for p T ⩾ 1 GeV . Likewise, the p T -spectra and yields of J / ψ 's differ appreciably in the two scenarios.
16350602
Partonic effects in heavy ion collisions at RHIC
Effects of partonic interactions in heavy ion collisions at RHIC are studied in a multiphase transport model (AMPT) that includes both initial partonic and final hadronic interactions. It is found that a large parton scattering cross section is needed to understand the measured elliptic flow of pions and two-pion correlation function.
5224194
3D Magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of Parker instability with cosmic rays
This study investigates Parker instability in an interstellar medium (ISM) near the Galactic plane using three-dimensional magneto-hydrodynamic simulations. Parker instability arises from the presence of a magnetic field in a plasma, wherein the magnetic buoyant pressure expels the gas and cause the gas to move along the field lines. The process is thought to induce the formation of giant molecular clouds in the Galaxy. In this study, the effects of cosmic-ray (CR) diffusion are examined. The ISM at equilibrium is assumed to comprise a plasma fluid and a CR fluid at various temperatures, with a uniform magnetic field passing through it in the azimuthal direction of the Galactic disk. After a small perturbation, the unstable gas aggregates at the footpoint of the magnetic fields and forms dense blobs. The growth rate of the instability increases with the strength of the CR diffusion. The formation of dense clouds is enhanced by the effect of cosmic rays (CRs), whereas the shape of the clouds depends sensitively on the initial conditions of perturbation.
17280430
Survivability of a star cluster in a dispersing molecular cloud
Star clusters are formed in molecular clouds which are believed to be the birth places of most stars. From recent observational data, Lada & Lada 2003 estimated that only 4% to 7% of the clusters embedded inside molecular clouds have survived. An important mechanism for the disruption of embedded (bound)-clusters is the dispersion of the parent cloud by UV radiation, stellar winds and/or supernova explosions. In this work we study the effect of this mechanism by N-body simulations. We find that most embedded-clusters survive for more than 30 Myr even when different initial conditions of the cluster may introduce some minor variations, but the general result is rather robust.
119494719
Theoretical Aspects of Gravitational Lensing in TeVeS
Since Bekenstein's creation of his tensor-vector-scalar theory (TeVeS), the modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) paradigm has been redeemed from the embarrassment of lacking a relativistic version. One primary success of TeVeS is that it provides an enhancement of gravitational lensing, which could not be achieved by other MOND theories. Following Bekenstein's work, we investigate the phenomena of gravitational lensing including deflection angles, lens equations, and time delay. We find that the deflection angle maintains its value, while the distance of closest approach varies in the MOND regime. We also use the deflection angle law to derive magnifications and investigate microlensing light curves. We find that the difference in the magnification of the two images in the point-mass model is not a constant, as in general relativity (GR). Besides, microlensing light curves could deviate significantly from GR in the deep MOND regime. Furthermore, the scalar field, which is introduced to enhance the deflection angle in TeVeS, contributes a negative effect on the potential time delay. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is unmeasurable in lensing systems, where we can only observe the time delay between two images for a given source. However, this measurable time delay offers another constraint on the mass ratio of the dark matter and MOND scenarios, which in general differs from that given by the deflection angle. In other words, for a lensing system, if two masses, mgN and mgM, are mutual alternatives for the deflection angles in their own paradigm, regarding the time delay they are in general in an exclusive relation.
16205821
Particle propagation in the galactic center and spatial distribution of non-thermal x-rays
We showed that if the non-thermal emission from the galactic center in the range 14–40 keV is due to inverse bremsstrahlung emission of subrelativistic protons, their interactions with hot and cold fractions of the interstellar medium are equally important. Our estimation shows that about 30% of the total non-thermal flux from the GC in the range 14–40 keV is generated in regions of cold gas while the rest is produced by proton interaction with hot plasma. From the spatial distribution of 6.7 keV iron line we concluded the spatial distribution of hot plasma is strongly non-uniform that should be taken into account in analysis of proton propagation in the GC. From the Suzaku data we got independent estimates for the diffusion coefficient of subrelativistic protons in the GC, which was in the range 10 26 –10 27 cm 2 s � 1 .
119468344
Parker-Jeans Instability of Gaseous Disks Including the Effect of Cosmic Rays
We use linear analysis to examine the effect of cosmic rays (CRs) on the Parker-Jeans instability of magnetized self-gravitating gaseous disks. We adopt a slab equilibrium model in which the gravity (including self-gravity) is perpendicular to the midplane and the magnetic field lies along the slab. CRs are described as a fluid, and diffusion is considered only along magnetic field lines. The linearized equations are solved numerically. The system is susceptible to Parker-Jeans instability. In general, the system is less unstable when the CR diffusion coefficient is smaller (i.e., the coupling between the CRs and plasma is stronger). The system is also less unstable if the CR pressure is larger. This is reminiscent of the fact that Jeans instability and Parker instability are less unstable when the gas pressure is larger (or temperature is higher). Moreover, for a large CR diffusion coefficient (or a small CR pressure), perturbations parallel to the magnetic field are more unstable than those perpendicular to it. The other governing factor on the growth rate of the perturbations in different directions is the thickness of the disk or the strength of the external pressure on the disk. In fact, this is the determining factor in some parameter regimes.