Elliptic flow from Coulomb interaction and low density elastic scattering

Abstract

In high energy heavy ion collisions and interacting cold atom systems, large elliptic flow anisotropies have been observed. For the large opacity ($\rho\sigma L\sim 10^{3}$) of the latter hydrodynamics is a natural consequence, but for the small opacity ($\rho\sigma L\sim 1$) of the former hydrodynamic description is questionable. To shed light onto the situation, we simulate the expansion of a low density Argon ion (or atom) system, initially trapped in an elliptical region, under the Coulomb interaction (or elastic scattering). Significant elliptic anisotropy is found in both cases, and the anisotropy depends on the initial spatial eccentricity and the density of the system. The results may provide insights into the physics of anisotropic flow in high energy heavy ion collisions and its role in the study of quantum chromodynamics.