Mean-field effects on collective flow in high-energy heavy-ion collisions at 2–158AGeV energies

Abstract

Collective flows in heavy-ion collisions from AGS ($(2-11)A$ GeV) to SPS ($(40,158)A$ GeV) energies are investigated in a nonequilibrium transport model with nuclear mean-field (MF). Sideward $<p_x>$, directed $v_1$, and elliptic flows $v_2$ are systematically studied with different assumptions on the nuclear equation of state (EOS). We find that momentum dependence in the nuclear MF is important for the understanding of the proton collective flows at AGS and SPS energies. Calculated results with momentum dependent MF qualitatively reproduce the experimental data of proton sideward, directed, and elliptic flows in a incident energy range of $(2-158)A$ GeV.