arXiv subjects

Shusu Shi

Publications and source records attributed to Shusu Shi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Low-energy Muon-Nucleon scattering experiment: LUNE (White Paper)

The HIAF will provide high-intensity, high-quality muon beams with momenta from 0.5 to 7.5 GeV/c. This energy range is uniquely suited for precision muon scattering, bridging the gap between low-energy electron facilities and future high-energy lepton-ion colliders. In particular, HIAF will enable precision measurements with both positive and negative muon beams over a broad kinematic range, complementing existing electron-scattering facilities such as JLab, EicC and EIC. Based on HIAF muon source, the LUNE Collaboration has been established to address several fundamental questions in nuclear and particle physics, including the proton charge radius puzzle, nucleon electromagnetic structure, and the dynamics of quantum electrodynamics and hadronic interactions. The program proceeds in two phases, from elastic scattering to nucleon structure and beyond-Standard-Model searches. The experiment is expected to determine the proton charge radius with a precision of approximately 1.0\% using elastic muon-proton scattering. It will also perform systematic measurements of the proton electromagnetic form factors with both $\mu^+$ and $\mu^-$ beams, enabling precise studies of two-photon exchange effects and stringent tests of quantum electrodynamics. Beyond elastic scattering, LUNE will investigate TMD, gravitational form factors, and nuclear charge radii, providing new insights into the 3D structure of nucleons and nuclei. The experiment will further address important topics including Coulomb-distortion corrections, nuclear medium effects, and possible signatures of physics beyond the Standard Model. This white paper presents the scientific motivation, detector concept, expected performance, and long-term strategy of LUNE.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2026

Effects of femtoscopic correlations on spin-spin correlation measurements

Hyperon spin correlations serve as sensitive probes of spin dynamics in high-energy collisions, yet their extraction from weak-decay angular distributions can be contaminated by femtoscopic effects due to quantum statistics and final-state interactions. In this work, we quantitatively assess this contamination for $\Lambda\Lambda$ and $\Lambda\bar{\Lambda}$ pairs using the AMPT model combined with spin-dependent weights from the Lednick\'y--Lyuboshits formalism. Because the singlet and triplet spin configurations contribute differently to the decay-angle distribution, femtoscopic weighting induces an apparent angular modulation, creating a fake correlation signal even when no intrinsic spin correlation is present. We find that the induced bias can become substantial in the low-$q_{\mathrm{inv}}$ region, where the combined femtoscopic effect reaches a magnitude comparable to that of the preliminary CMS measurements. Our results establish a framework for evaluating such systematics, highlighting that femtoscopic corrections must be carefully considered in future differential analyses that emphasize the low-relative-momentum region.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2026

Experimental Review on Bulk Properties and Light/Strange Hadron Production in Heavy-Ion Collisions

This proceedings article reviews recent experimental results on bulk properties and light/strange hadron production in heavy-ion collisions, presented at the Strangeness in Quark Matter 2026 conference. The discussion covers the QCD phase diagram, extraction of the temperature-dependent speed of sound, radial flow fluctuations probed by $v_0(p_T)$, anisotropic flow in small collision systems, strange hadron yields across system sizes, nuclear modification factors, and collectivity signatures at high baryon density. Results from the STAR, CMS, ALICE, ATLAS, PHENIX, NA61/SHINE, and HADES collaborations are synthesized to highlight recent progress in understanding the properties of the Quark-Gluon Plasma and the nature of the QCD phase transition.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2026

A practical methodology for $\Lambda$ global polarization extraction in fixed-target experiments

Non-central heavy-ion collisions generate large orbital angular momentum in the created medium, which leads to polarization of final-state particles via spin-orbit coupling, known as global spin polarization. The observation of significant global polarization of $\Lambda$ hyperon in heavy-ion collisions indicates that the quark-gluon plasma is the most vortical fluid known in nature. Exploring $\Lambda$ global polarization at lower energies is important for understanding spin dynamics across different regions of the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) phase diagram. Low-energy nuclear experiments are typically conducted with asymmetric detector acceptance, as in fixed-target collisions at RHIC-STAR, and at facilities such as FAIR, NICA, HIAF and HIRFL-CSR. The asymmetric rapidity coverage in these experiments enhances the coupling between directed flow and detector inefficiencies, creating significant bias in $\Lambda$ global polarization measurements. In this paper, we propose a methodology to eliminate such bias arising from asymmetric detector acceptance. The method is validated using realistic detector simulations based on the STAR fixed-target configuration.

physics.data-an↗

arXiv2026

Physics of Collectivity and EOS from the RHIC Beam Energy Scan Program

In this article we will review recent measurements of directed flow $v_1$ and elliptic flow $v_2$ in Au+Au collisions from the STAR Beam Energy Scan (BES) program. We systematically analyze the $v_1$ distributions for identified hadrons ($\pi^\pm$, $K^\pm$, $p/\bar{p}$) and $\Lambda$ hyperon as functions of rapidity ($y$), with particular focus on the mid-central collisions. The energy dependence of the $v_1$ slope is extracted across the BES range ($\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 3 -- 200 GeV). The atomic mass number ($A$) dependence of light and hyper nuclei $v_1$ to test the validity of the coalescence production mechanism. The constituent quark number (NCQ) scaling is systematically investigated based on $v_2$ measurements of identified particles and strange hadrons. We find that the NCQ scaling approximately holds in Au+Au collisions when $\sqrt{s_{NN}} \geq$ 4.5 GeV, but completely breaks down at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 3.0 and 3.2 GeV. The gradual restoration of NCQ scaling from 3.2 to 4.5 GeV suggests a possible transition in the dominant degrees of freedom from hadrons to partons. The physics of collectivity, equation of the system and relevance to the QCD phase diagram will be discussed within the framework of both hydrodynamic and hadronic transport model calculations.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2026

Selected highlights from STAR experiment

In this paper, we review recent highlights in heavy-ion collisions and proton-proton collisions at top energies from STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) with key contributions from Chinese groups, including the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) bulk properties, electromagnetic probes, heavy flavor and jets, antimatter hyper-nucleus, nuclear structure, global polarization, and nucleon spin structure. These data serve as important ingredients in the physics of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD).

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2026

Open charm production and $\Lambda_{c}^{+}/D^{0}$ ratio in pp and Au+Au collisions at the RHIC

We study open charm hadrons production in pp and Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}} = 200$~GeV using an improved a multi-phase transport (AMPT) model. Specifically, we show the transverse-momentum spectra and nuclear modification factors $R_{\mathrm{AA}}$ of $D^{0}$ mesons and $\Lambda_{c}^{+}$ baryons, as well as the $\Lambda_{c}^{+}/D^{0}$ ratio in pp and Au+Au collisions. The results obtained from the AMPT model simulations are compared with the STAR experimental data and found to be consistent. We further investigate the $\Lambda_{c}^{+}/D^{0}$ ratio by evaluating contributions from coalescence, fragmentation, and the combined coalescence+fragmentation mechanisms, and we find that fragmentation alone underestimates the pronounced enhancement in Au+Au relative to pp at low and intermediate $p_{\mathrm{T}}$, whereas the coalescence+fragmentation mechanism reproduces the observed trend significantly better. These results indicate that coalescence plays a key role in charm baryon productions and helps constrain the relative importance of different hadronization mechanisms in the ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Energy Dependence of Elliptic Flow Ratio $v_{2}^{\text{PP}}$/$v_{2}^{\text{RP}}$ in Heavy-ion Collisions Using the AMPT Model

We present a systematic study of the elliptic flow $v_2$ relative to the participant plane (PP) and reaction plane (RP) in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 7.7$-200 GeV using the AMPT model with the string melting version. The ratio $v_{2}^{\text{PP}}$/$v_{2}^{\text{RP}}$ is investigated under different hadronic cascade times (0.6 fm/$c$, 10 fm/$c$, and the maximum evolution time) and across various collision centralities. The results show that, at a fixed collision energy, the ratio exhibits negligible sensitivity to the duration of the hadronic rescattering stage, indicating that hadronic interactions have little effect on the relative difference generated by initial-state fluctuations. However, a strong energy dependence is observed, the ratio increases with beam energy and saturates above $\sqrt{s_{NN}} \approx 62.4$ GeV, a trend that persists across all centralities. These findings highlight the dominant role of the partonic phase in converting initial-state geometry fluctuations into final-state momentum anisotropy. Conversely, at lower energies, the reduced partonic interaction strength limits this conversion efficiency, weakening the system's ability to preserve the initial geometric information. Our results suggest that the conversion of initial geometric fluctuations into final momentum anisotropy requires sufficient partonic interactions.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2025

Simulation of radiation environment for the beam monitor of CEE experiment

The cooling storage ring external-target experiment is a large-scale nuclear physics experiment, which aims to study the physics of heavy-ion collisions at low temperatures and high baryon densities. A beam monitor (BM) is placed in the beam line to monitor the beam status and to improve the reconstruction resolution of the primary vertices. The radiation dose and particle fluence stemming from the beam interactions with gases and detector materials affect the performance of the sensors and electronics of BM. This paper uses FLUKA Monte Carlo code to simulate the radiation environment of BM detector. Radiation quantities including the total ionizing dose, 1 MeV neutron equivalent fluence, high-energy hadron flux, thermal neutron flux, and nuclear fragment flux are presented. Results of alternative simulation setups, including adding shielding layers inside the BM, are also investigated.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

Design and performance of the prototype gaseous beam monitor with GEM and pixel sensors for the CSR external-target experiment

A gaseous beam monitor utilizing gas electron multiplier (GEM) and pixel sensors is being developed for the Cooling Storage Ring (CSR) External-target Experiment (CEE) at Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL). The beam monitor is mainly used to track each beam particle, providing an accurate reconstruction of the primary vertex of the collision. Two generations of the pixel sensors (named Topmetal-CEE) were produced, with the second generation's performance improving over the first one. The design and performance of the prototype are described in the paper. Characterization of the prototype with heavy-ion beams and laser beams are presented, showing a spatial resolution better than 50 $\mum$ and a time resolution better than 15 ns.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

Transport-model investigation of scaling of the number of constituent quarks and the hadronic-partonic transition in Au + Au collisions

We investigate the elliptic flow ($v_2$) in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}} = 3.0$ and 4.5 GeV using both hadronic and partonic transport models, including JAM, SMASH, AMPT-Hadronic Cascade, and AMPT-String Melting. At 3.0 GeV, the JAM model reproduces the number-of-constituent-quark (NCQ) scaling violation observed by STAR, as well as the particle ordering ($K^0_S > p > \pi^+$). Model calculations of the centrality dependence indicate that the scaling violation mainly originates from hadronic interactions rather than spectator effects, while the rapidity dependence further constrains the mechanism of the scaling breaking and the underlying longitudinal dynamics. At 4.5 GeV, partonic interactions in the AMPT-String Melting mode significantly enhance NCQ scaling, and turning off final-state hadronic rescattering further clarifies the scaling pattern, highlighting the increasing role of partonic degrees of freedom. The energy dependence of the $p_T$-integrated $v_2$ is also examined within these models.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2025

Studies of Directed Flow with Event Plane Method in the HIRFL-CSR External-target Experiment

The Cooling-Storage-Ring External-target Experiment (CEE) at Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL) is designed to study the properties of nuclear matter created in heavy-ion collisions at a few hundred MeV/$u$ to 1 GeV/$u$ beam energies, facilitating the research of quantum chromodynamics phase structure in the high-baryon-density region. Collective flow is one of the most important observables in heavy-ion collision experiments to study the bulk behavior of the created matter. Even though the standard event plane method has been widely used for collective flow measurements, it remains crucial to validate and optimize this method for the CEE spectrometer. In this paper, we study the experimental procedures of measuring directed flow in $^{238}$U+$^{238}$U collisions at 500 MeV/$u$ using event planes reconstructed by Multi Wire Drift Chamber and Zero Degree Calorimeter, respectively. Jet AA Microscopic (JAM) transport generator is used to generate events, and the detector response is simulated by the CEE Fast Simulation (CFS) package. Finally, the optimal kinetic region for proton directed flow measurements is discussed for the future CEE experiment.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2024

Elliptic and quadrangular flow of protons in the high baryon density region

The collective flow provides valuable insights into the anisotropic expansion of particles produced in heavy-ion collisions and is sensitive to the equation of the state of nuclear matter in high-baryon-density regions. In this paper, we use the hadronic transport model SMASH to investigate the elliptic flow ($v_2$), quadrangular flow ($v_4$), and their ratio ($v_{4}/v_{2}^{2}$) in Au+Au collisions at high baryon density. Our results show that the inclusion of baryonic mean-field potential in the model successfully reproduces experimental data from the HADES experiment, indicating that baryonic interactions play an important role in shaping anisotropic flow. In addition to comparing the transverse momentum ($p_T$), rapidity, and centrality dependence of $v_{4}/v_{2}^{2}$ between HADES data and model calculations, we also explore its time evolution and energy dependence across $\sqrt{s_{NN}} =$ 2.4 to 4.5 GeV. While the ratio $v_{4}/v_{2}^{2}$ for high-$p_{T}$ particles approaches 0.5, which aligns with expectations from hydrodynamic behavior, we emphasize that this result primarily reflects agreement with the HADES measurements rather than a definitive indication of ideal fluid behavior. These findings contribute to understanding the early-stage dynamics in heavy-ion collisions at high baryon density.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2024

The elliptic flow difference between baryons and anti-baryons in heavy collision with SMASH Model

A significant difference in the elliptic flow $v_2$ for particles and their corresponding antiparticles, which is more pronounced for baryons and anti-baryons, was observed in the STAR experiment during the Beam Energy Scan I (BES-I) at RHIC. By employing the SMASH model, we study the $v_2$ difference between protons and anti-protons, as well as between $\Lambda$ and $\bar{\Lambda}$, in Au + Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 7.7$ GeV as a function of evolution time. It finds that as the evolution time increases, the $v_2$ difference between protons and anti-protons becomes more pronounced compared to that between $\Lambda$ and $\bar{\Lambda}$. This phenomenon can be explained by the different constituent quarks of protons and $\Lambda$. Since some of the $u$ quarks and $d$ quarks come from the colliding nuclei and are transported to mid-rapidity, they undergo more interactions than produced quarks, resulting in the proton $\Delta v_2$ being larger than the $\Lambda$ $\Delta v_2$. We compare the SMASH calculations with STAR BES-I data and argue that higher precision data from BES-II will provide constraints on theoretical frameworks to interpret the $v_2$ differences of particles and anti-particles.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2024

Anti-flow of Mesons in the High Baryon Density Region

The E895 and STAR experiments demonstrate that the slopes of directed flow with respect to rapidity ($dv_1/dy|_{y=0}$) of mesons are negative in the low transverse momentum ($p_T$) region, $p_T < 0.8$ GeV/$c$, in Au + Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 3.0 - 3.9$ GeV. Using the transport model JAM, we investigate the directed flow of $\pi^{\pm}$, $K^{\pm}$, and $K^0$ as functions of rapidity, $p_T$, and collision energy in Au + Au collisions at the same energies as those in the E895 and STAR experiments. We find that the JAM model can qualitatively reproduce the anti-flow of $K^0_S$ observed in the E895 experiment. The $v_1$ slopes of pions and kaons are analyzed as functions of the $p_T$ window, revealing a strong $p_T$ dependence of the $v_1$ slopes. Negative $v_1$ slopes are observed in the low $p_T$ region, $p_T < 0.8$ GeV/$c$, while positive slopes are shown in the higher $p_T$ region. We find that the shadowing effect from spectators is crucial in generating the anti-flow of mesons at low $p_T$ in the high baryon density region.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2024

Properties of the QCD Matter -- An Experimental Review of Selected Results from RHIC BES Program

In the paper, we discuss the development of the multi-gap resistive plate chamber Time-of-Flight (TOF) technology and the production of the STAR TOF detector in China at the beginning of the 21st century. Then we review recent experimental results from the first beam energy scan program (BES-I) at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Topics cover measurements of collectivity, chirality, criticality, global polarization, strangeness, heavy-flavor, di-lepton and light nuclei productions.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2023

Coalescence sum rule and the electric charge- and strangeness-dependences of directed flow in heavy ion collisions

The rapidity-odd directed flows ($v_{\rm 1}$) of identified hadrons are expected to follow the coalescence sum rule when the created matter is initially in parton degrees of freedom and then hadronizes through quark coalescence. A recent study has considered the $v_{\rm 1}$ of produced hadrons that do not contain $u$ or $d$ constituent quarks. It has constructed multiple hadron sets with a small mass difference but given difference in electric charge $Δq$ and strangeness $ΔS$ between the two sides, where a nonzero and increasing $Δv_{\rm 1}$ with $Δq$ has been proposed to be a consequence of electromagnetic fields. In this study, we examine the consequence of coalescence sum rule on the $Δv_{\rm 1}$ of the hadron sets in the absence of electromagnetic fields. We find that in general $Δv_{\rm 1} \neq 0$ for a hadron set with nonzero $Δq$ and/or $ΔS$ due to potential $v_{\rm 1}$ differences between $\bar u$ and $\bar d$ and between $s$ and $\bar s$ quarks. We further propose methods to extract the coefficients for the $Δq$- and $ΔS$-dependences of the direct flow difference, where a nonzero constant term would indicate the breaking of the coalescence sum rule. The extraction methods are then demonstrated with transport model results.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2023

Resolving the $R_{\rm pA}$ and $v_2$ puzzle of $D^0$ mesons in $p-$Pb collisions

It has been difficult to reconcile the experimental data on the $D^0$ meson nuclear modification factor and elliptic flow in $p-$Pb collisions at LHC energies. Here we study these observables with the string melting version of a multi-phase transport model, which has been improved with the implementation of the Cronin effect (or transverse momentum broadening) and independent fragmentation for charm quarks. Using a strong Cronin effect allows us to provide the first simultaneous description of the $D^0$ meson $R_{\rm pA}$ and $v_2$ data at $p_{\rm T} \leq$ 8 GeV$/c$. The model also provides a reasonable description of the $D^0$ meson $p_{\rm T}$ spectra and the low-$p_{\rm T}$ (below $\sim$ 2 GeV$/c$) charged hadron spectra in $p+p$ and $p-$Pb collisions as well as $R_{\rm pA}$ and $v_2$ in $p-$Pb collisions. We find that both parton scatterings and the Cronin effect are important for the $D^0$ meson $R_{\rm pA}$, while parton scatterings are mostly responsible for the $D^0$ meson $v_2$. Our results indicate that it is crucial to include the Cronin effect for the simultaneous description of the $D^0$ meson $R_{\rm pA}$ and $v_2$. Since the Cronin effect is expected to grow with the system size, this work implies that the Cronin effect could also be important for heavy hadrons in large systems.

nucl-th↗