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J. Aichelin

Publications and source records attributed to J. Aichelin.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Core - Corona Model describes the Centrality Dependence of v_2/epsilon

Event by event EPOS calculations in which the expansion of the system is described by {\it ideal} hydrodynamics reproduce well the measured centrality dependence of $v_2/ε_{part}$, although it has been claimed that only viscous hydrodynamics can reproduce these data. This is due to the core - corona effect which manifests itself in the initial condition of the hydrodynamical expansion. The centrality dependence of $v_2/ε_{part}$ can be understood in the recently advanced core-corona model, a simple parameter free EPOS inspired model to describe the centrality dependence of different observables from SPS to RHIC energies. This model has already been successfully applied to understand the centrality dependence of multiplicities and of the average transverse momentum of identified particles.

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Is the centrality dependence of the elliptic flow $v_2$ and of the average $ $ in RHIC experiments more than a Core-Corona Effect?

Recently we have shown that the centrality dependence of the multiplicity of different hadron species observed in RHIC and SPS experiments can be well understood in a simple model, dubbed core-corona model. There it is assumed that those incoming nucleons which scatter only once produce hadrons as in pp collisions whereas those which scatter more often form an equilibrated source which decays according to phase space. In this article we show that also kinematical variables like $v_2/ε_{part} (N_{part})$ as well as $v_2^i/ε_{part} (N_{part})$ and $ $ of identified particles are well described in this model. The correlation of $ $ between peripheral heavy ion collisions and pp collisions for different hadrons, reproduced in this model, questions whether hydrodynamical calculations are the proper tool to describe non-central heavy ion collision. The model explains as well the centrality dependence of $v_2/ε_{part}$ of charged particles, considered up to now as an observable which allows to determine the viscosity of the quark gluon plasma. The observed dependence of $v_2^i/ε_{part}(N_{part})$ on the particle species is a simple consequence of the different ratios of core to corona particles.

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Isospin effects on the energy of vanishing flow in heavy-ion collisions

Using the isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics model we study the isospin effects on the disappearance of flow for the reactions of $^{58}Ni$ + $^{58}Ni$ and $^{58}Fe$ +$^{58}Fe$ as a function of impact parameter. We found good agreement between our calculations and experimentally measured energy of vanishing flow at all colliding geometries. Our calculations reproduce the experimental data within 5%(10%) at central (peripheral) geometries.

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Competition of Heavy Quark Radiative and Collisional Energy Loss in Deconfined Matter

We extend our recently advanced model on collisional energy loss of heavy quarks in a quark gluon plasma (QGP) by including radiative energy loss. We discuss the approach and present first preliminary results. We show that present data on nuclear modification factor of non photonic single electrons hardly permit to distinguish between those 2 energy loss mechanisms.

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Disappearance of Flow in Heavy-Ion Collisions for System Mass > 175

Using the QMD model, we study the mass dependence of the disappearance of transverse flow in heavier colliding nuclei. A power law mass dependence is obtained in all cases. Our results are in excellent agreement with data. For the first time, we predict the balance energy of U+U around 37-39 MeV/nucleon.

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Study of fragmentation using clusterization algorithm with realistic binding energies

We here study fragmentation using \emph{simulated annealing clusterization algorithm} (SACA) with binding energy at a microscopic level. In an earlier version, a constant binding energy (4 MeV/nucleon) was used. We improve this binding energy criterion by calculating the binding energy of different clusters using modified Bethe-Weizsäcker mass (BWM) formula. We also compare our calculations with experimental data of ALADiN group. Nearly no effect is visible of this modification.

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Bimodality - a general feature of heavy ion reactions

Recently, is has been observed that events with the {\it same} total transverse energy of light charged particles (LCP) in the quasi target region, $E_{\perp 12}^{QT}$, show two quite distinct reaction scenarios in the projectile domain: multifragmentation and residue production. This phenomenon has been dubbed "bimodality". Using Quantum Molecular Dynamics calculations we demonstrate that this observation is very general. It appears in collisions of all symmetric systems larger than Ca and at beam energies between 50 A.MeV and 600 A.MeV and is due to large fluctuations of the impact parameter for a given $E_{\perp 12}^{QT}$. Investigating in detail the $E_{\perp 12}^{QT}$ bin in which both scenarios are present, we find that neither the average fragment momenta nor the average transverse and longitudinal energies of fragments show the behavior expected from a system in statistical equilibrium, in experiment as well as in QMD simulations. On the contrary, the experimental as well as the theoretical results point towards a fast process. This observation questions the conjecture that the observed bimodality is due to the coexistence of 2 phases at a given temperature in finite systems.

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High $p_T$ resonances as a possibility to explore hot and dense nuclear matter

One of the fundamental objectives of experiments with ultrarelativistic heavy ions is to explore strongly interacting matter at high density and high temperature. In this investigation we study in particular the information which can be obtained by analyzing baryonic and mesonic resonances. The decay products of these resonances carry information on the resonances properties at the space time point of their decay. We especially investigate the percentage of reconstructable resonances as a function of density for heavy ion collisions in the energy range between $E_{lab}$ = 30 AGeV and $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 AGeV, the energy domain between the future FAIR facility and the present RHIC collider.

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Centrality Dependence of Strangeness Enhancement in Ultrarelativistic Heavy Ion Collisions - a Core-Corona Effect

In ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions, the multiplicity of multi-strange baryons per participating nucleon increases with centrality in a different fashion for different systems and energies. At RHIC, for copper+copper (CuCu) collisions the increase is much steeper than for gold-gold (AuAu) collisions. We show that this system size dependence is due to a core-corona effect: the relative importance of the corona as compared to the core (thermalized matter) contribution varies and the contribution of a corona nucleon to the multiplicity differs from that of a core nucleon. $ϕ$ mesons follow in principle the same trend, but the difference between core and corona multiplicity is relatively small, and therefore the CuCu and AuAu results are quite similar. This simple geometrical explanation makes also a strong case in favor of the validity of Glauber geometry in the peripheral regions of ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions, which is crucial for understanding the early evolution of the system.

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Tomography of a quark gluon plasma at RHIC and LHC energies

Using the recently published model for the collisional energy loss of heavy quarks (Q) in a Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP), based on perturbative QCD (pQCD) with a running coupling constant, we study the interaction between heavy quarks and plasma particles in detail. We discuss correlations between the simultaneously produced $c$ and $\bar{c}$ quarks, study how central collisions can be experimentally selected, predict observable correlations and extend our model to the energy domain of the large hadron collider (LHC). We finally compare the predictions of our model with that of other approaches like AdS/CFT.

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Tomography of the Quark Gluon Plasma by Heavy Quarks

Using the recently published model \cite{Gossiaux:2008jv,goss2} for the collisional energy loss of heavy quarks in a Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP), based on perturbative QCD (pQCD), we study the centrality dependence of $R_{AA}$ and $R_{AA}(p_T^{min})$, %= \frac{dN_{AA}/dp_T}{ dN_{pp}/dp_T}$ measured by the Phenix collaboration, and compare our model with other approaches based on pQCD and on Anti de Sitter/ Conformal Field Theory (AdS/CFT)

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Towards an understanding of the RHIC single electron data

High transverse momentum ($p_T$) single non-photonic electrons which have been measured in the RHIC experiments come dominantly from heavy meson decay. The ratio of their $p_T$ spectra in pp and AA collisions ($R_{AA}(p_T)$) reveals the energy loss of heavy quarks in the environment created by AA collisions. Using a fixed coupling constant and the Debye mass ($m_D\approx gT$) as infrared regulator perturbative QCD (pQCD) calculations are not able to reproduce the data, neither the energy loss nor the azimuthal $(v_2)$ distribution. Employing a running coupling constant and replacing the Debye mass by a more realistic hard thermal loop (HTL) calculation we find a substantial increase of the collisional energy loss which brings the $v_2(p_T)$ distribution as well as $R_{AA}(p_T)$ to values close to the experimental ones without excluding a contribution from radiative energy loss.

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How Sensitive are Di-Leptons from Rho Mesons to the High Baryon Density Region?

We show that the measurement of di-leptons might provide only a restricted view into the most dense stages of heavy ion reactions. Thus, possible studies of meson and baryon properties at high baryon densities, as e.g. done at GSI-HADES and envisioned for FAIR-CBM, might observe weaker effects than currently expected in certain approaches. We argue that the strong absorption of resonances in the high baryon density region of the heavy ion collision masks information from the early hot and dense phase due to a strong increase of the total decay width because of collisional broadening. To obtain additional information, we also compare the currently used approaches to extract di-leptons from transport simulations - i.e. shining, only vector mesons from final baryon resonance decays and instant emission of di-leptons and find a strong sensitivity on the method employed in particular at FAIR and SPS energies. It is shown explicitly that a restriction to rho meson (and therefore di-lepton) production only in final state baryon resonance decays provide a strong bias towards rather low baryon densities. The results presented are obtained from UrQMD v2.3 calculations using the standard set-up.

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Bimodality - a Sign of Critical Behavior in Nuclear Reactions

The recently discovered coexistence of multifragmentation and residue production for the same total transverse energy of light charged particles can be well reproduced in numerical simulations of the heavy ion reactions. A detailed analysis shows that fluctuations (introduced by elementary nucleon-nucleon collisions) determine which of the exit states is realized. Thus we observe for the first time nonlinear dynamics in heavy ion reactions. Also the scaling of the coexistence region with beam energy is well reproduced in these results from the QMD simulation program.

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How can we explore the onset of deconfinement by experiment?

There is little doubt that Quantumchromodynamics (QCD) is the theory which describes strong interaction physics. Lattice gauge simulations of QCD predict that in the $μ,T$ plane there is a line where a transition from confined hadronic matter to deconfined quarks takes place. The transition is either a cross over (at low $μ$) or of first order (at high $μ$). It is the goal of the present and future heavy ion experiment at RHIC and FAIR to study this phase transition at different locations in the $μ,T$ plane and to explore the properties of the deconfined phase. It is the purpose of this contribution to discuss some of the observables which are considered as useful for this purpose.

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Analysis of Dilepton Invariant Mass Spectrum in C+C at 2 and 1 AGeV

Recently the HADES collaboration has published the invariant mass spectrum of $e^+e^-$ pairs, dN/dM$_{e^+e^-}$, produced in C+C collisions at 2 AGeV. Using electromagnetic probes, one hopes to get in this experiment information on hadron properties at high density and temperature. Simulations show that firm conclusions on possible in-medium modifications of meson properties will only be possible when the elementary meson production cross sections, especially in the pn channel, as well as production cross sections of baryonic resonances are better known. Presently one can conclude that a) simulations overpredict by far the cross section at $M_{e^+e^-} \approx M_ω{^0}$ if free production cross sections are used and that b) the upper limit of the $η$ decay into $e^+e^-$ is smaller than the present upper limit of the Particle Data Group. This is the result of simulations using the Isospin Quantum Molecular Dynamics (IQMD) approach.

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Energy loss of a heavy quark produced in a finite-size quark-gluon plasma

We study the energy loss of an energetic heavy quark produced in a high temperature quark-gluon plasma and travelling a finite distance before emerging in the vacuum. While the retardation time of purely collisional energy loss is found to be of the order of the Debye screening length, we find that the contributions from transition radiation and the Ter-Mikayelian effect do not compensate, leading to a reduction of the zeroth order (in an opacity expansion) energy loss.

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