arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Kyungil Kim.
We implement the quark-meson coupling model in Daejeon Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (DJBUU) transport model and perform Au+Au collision simulations at intermediate energies. Results are compared with simulations using a conventional quantum hadrodynamics model. Differences in the maximum density reached during the collisions are interpreted in terms of nuclear matter properties predicted by each model.
The quark-meson coupling (QMC) model incorporates quark degrees of freedom into the relativistic mean-field (RMF) framework, distinguishing it from traditional quantum hadrodynamics (QHD), which treats nucleons as point-like particles. In this work, we implement the QMC model within the DaeJeon Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (DJBUU) transport code to investigate its applicability to intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions. We simulate \textsuperscript{197}Au+\textsuperscript{197}Au collisions at a beam energy of 400 A MeV using both QHD and QMC and find that both approaches yield comparable results for bulk observables such as transverse and directed flow, with good agreement with experimental data. To further assess the model performance, we study pion production in neutron-rich (\textsuperscript{132}Sn+\textsuperscript{124}Sn) and less neutron-rich (\textsuperscript{108}Sn+\textsuperscript{112}Sn) systems at 270 A MeV. In contrast to the QHD case, reproducing the observed pion yields and charge ratios within the QMC framework requires a slightly reduced density-dependent suppression in the in-medium $\Delta$ production cross-section. These results demonstrate that the QMC model can be effectively integrated into transport simulations.
Most nuclei are deformed, and these deformations play an important role in various nuclear and astrophysical phenomena. Microscopic nuclear mass models have been developed based on covariant density functional theory to explore exotic nuclear properties. Among these, we adopt mass models based on the relativistic continuum Hartree-Bogoliubov theory (RCHB) with spherical symmetry and the deformed relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory in continuum (DRHBc) with axial symmetry to study the effects of deformation on the abundances produced during the rapid neutron-capture process (r-process). Since the DRHBc mass table has so far been completed only for even-Z nuclei, we first investigate whether a Deep Neural Network (DNN) can be used to extend the DRHBc mass table by focusing on nuclear binding energies. To incorporate information about odd-odd and odd-even isotopes into the DNN, we also use binding energies from AME2020 as a training set, in addition to those from the DRHBc mass table for even-Z nuclei. After generating an improved mass table through the DNN study, we conduct a sensitivity analysis of r-process abundances to deformation or mass variations using the RCHB$^\star$ and DRHBc$^\star$ mass tables (where $\star$ indicates that the mass table is obtained from the DNN study). For the r-process sensitivity study, we consider magnetohydrodynamic jets and collapsar jets. Our findings indicate that r-process abundances are sensitive to nuclear deformation, particularly within the mass range of $A=80-120$.
We study $^{208}$Pb+$^{40,48}$Ca reactions at $E_{\rm beam}$ = 50, 100 AMeV with DJBUU and SQMD transport codes. We compare the large primary fragments from the two codes at the end of the simulation time. We observe that overall the two models produce similar fragments. However, we see a noticeable difference between DJBUU and SQMD at $E_{\rm beam}=100$ AMeV with the impact parameter $b$ = 0 fm and discuss this difference in terms of the difference in the equation of state adopted in the two models and the difference in stability inherent to the BUU-type and QMD-type models.
Transport models are the main method to obtain physics information from low to relativistic-energy heavy-ion collisions. The Transport Model Evaluation Project (TMEP) has been pursued to test the robustness of transport model predictions in reaching consistent conclusions from the same type of physical model. Calculations under controlled conditions of physical input and set-up were performed with various participating codes. These included both calculations of nuclear matter in a box with periodic boundary conditions, and more realistic calculations of heavy-ion collisions. In this intermediate review, we summarize and discuss the present status of the project. We also provide condensed descriptions of the 26 participating codes, which contributed to some part of the project. These include the major codes in use today. We review the main results of the studies completed so far. They show, that in box calculations the differences between the codes can be well understood and a convergence of the results can be reached. These studies also highlight the systematic differences between the two families of transport codes, known as BUU and QMD type codes. However, when the codes were compared in full heavy-ion collisions using different physical models, as recently for pion production, they still yielded substantially different results. This calls for further comparisons of heavy-ion collisions with controlled models and of box comparisons of important ingredients, like momentum-dependent fields, which are currently underway. We often indicate improved strategies in performing transport simulations and thus provide guidance to code developers. Results of transport simulations of heavy-ion collisions from a given code will have more significance if the code can be validated against benchmark calculations such as the ones summarized in this review.
Transport simulations are very valuable for extracting physics information from heavy-ion collision experiments. With the emergence of many different transport codes in recent years, it becomes important to estimate their robustness in extracting physics information from experiments. We report on the results of a transport code comparison project. 18 commonly used transport codes were included in this comparison: 9 Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck-type codes and 9 Quantum-Molecular-Dynamics-type codes. These codes have been required to simulate Au+Au collisions using the same physics input for mean fields and for in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross sections, as well as the same initialization set-up, the impact parameter, and other calculational parameters at 100 and 400 AMeV incident energy. Among the codes we compare one-body observables such as rapidity and transverse flow distributions. We also monitor non-observables such as the initialization of the internal states of colliding nuclei and their stability, the collision rates and the Pauli blocking. We find that not completely identical initializations constitute partly for different evolutions. Different strategies to determine the collision probabilities, and to enforce the Pauli blocking, also produce considerably different results. There is a substantial spread in the predictions for the observables, which is much smaller at the higher incident energy. We quantify the uncertainties in the collective flow resulting from the simulation alone as about $30\%$ at 100 AMeV and $13\%$ at 400 AMeV, respectively. We propose further steps within the code comparison project to test the different aspects of transport simulations in a box calculation of infinite nuclear matter. This should, in particular, improve the robustness of transport model predictions at lower incident energies where abundant amounts of data are available.
The evaporation residue yields from compound nuclei $^{220}$Th formed in the $^{16}$O+$^{204}$Pb, $^{40}$Ar+$^{180}$Hf, $^{82}$Se+$^{138}$Ba, $^{124}$Sn+$^{96}$Zr reactions are analyzed to study the entrance channel effects by comparison of the capture, fusion and evaporation residue cross sections calculated by the combined dinuclear system (DNS) and advanced statistical models. The difference between evaporation residue (ER) cross sections can be related to the stages of compound nucleus formation or/and at its surviving against fission. The sensitivity of the both stages in the evolution of DNS up to the evaporation residue formation to the angular momentum of DNS is studied. The difference between fusion excitation functions are explained by the hindrance to complete fusion due to the larger intrinsic fusion barrier $B^*_{\rm fus}$ for the transformation of the DNS into a compound nucleus and the increase of the quasifission contribution due to the decreasing of quasifission barrier $B_{\rm qf}$ as a function of the angular momentum. The largest value of the ER residue yields in the very mass asymmetric $^{16}$O+$^{204}$Pb reaction is related to the large fusion probability and to the relatively low threshold of the excitation energy of the compound nucleus. Due to the large threshold of the excitation energy (35 MeV) of the $^{40}$Ar+$^{180}$Hf reaction, it produces less the ER yields than the almost mass symmetric $^{82}$Se+$^{138}$Ba reaction having the lowest threshold value (12 MeV).
The synthesis of superheavy elements stimulates the effort to study the peculiarities of the complete fusion with massive nuclei and to improve theoretical models in order to extract knowledge about reaction mechanism in heavy ion collisions at low energies. We compare the theoretical results of the compound nucleus (CN) formation and evaporation residue (ER) cross sections obtained for the $^{48}$Ca+$^{248}$Cm and $^{58}$Fe+$^{232}$Th reactions leading to the formation of the isotopes A=296 and A=290, respectively, of the new superheavy element Lv (Z=116). The ER cross sections, which can be measured directly, are determined by the complete fusion and survival probabilities of the heated and rotating compound nucleus. That probabilities can not be measured unambiguously but the knowledge about them is important to study the formation mechanism of the observed products. For this aim, the $^{48}$Ca+$^{249}$Cf and $^{64}$Ni+$^{232}$Th reactions have been considered too. The use of the mass values of superheavy nuclei calculated in the framework of the macroscopic-microscopic model by Warsaw group leads to smaller ER cross section for all of the reactions (excluding the $^{64}$Ni+$^{232}$Th reaction) in comparison with the case of using the masses calculated by Peter Möller {\it et al}.
We propose a phenomenological QCD sum rule with an explicit diquark field to investigate the essential ingredients inside the hadrons. Introducing the mass (m_ϕ) and the condensate (ϕ^2) for the diquark field as parameters in the model, we find that the sum rule works well for Lambda, Lambda_c and Lambda_b. This implies that these Lambda baryons can be represented by a diquark and a quark configuration. We also find that there is a duality relation among the parameters (m_ϕ, ϕ^2), for which the sum rule is equally good. In the limit when ϕ^2 =0 we find m_ϕ=0.4 GeV, which can be thought as the constituent diquark mass.
Oscillatory density profiles (layers) have previously been observed at the free surfaces of liquid metals, but not in other isotropic liquids. We have used x-ray reflectivity to study a molecular liquid, tetrakis(2-ethylhexoxy)silane. When cooled to T/Tc~0.25 (well above the freezing point for this liquid), density oscillations appear at the surface. Lateral order within the layers is liquid-like. Our results confirm theoretical predictions that a surface-layered state will appear even in dielectric liquids at sufficiently low temperatures, if not preempted by freezing.