N/ZandN/Adependence of the balance energy as a probe of the symmetry energy in heavy-ion collisions

Abstract

We study the $N/Z$ and $N/A$ dependence of balance energy (${E}_{\text{bal}}$) for isotopic series of Ca having $N/Z$ ($N/A$) varying from 1.0 to 2.0 (0.5 to 0.67). We show that the $N/Z$ ($N/A$) dependence of ${E}_{\text{bal}}$ is sensitive to symmetry energy and its density dependence at densities higher than saturation density and is insensitive toward the isospin dependence of nucleon-nucleon ($\mathit{nn}$) cross section and Coulomb repulsion. We also study the effect of momentum-dependent interactions (MDI) on the $N/Z$ ($N/A$) dependence of ${E}_{\text{bal}}$. We find that although MDI influences the ${E}_{\text{bal}}$ drastically, the $N/Z$ ($N/A$) dependence of ${E}_{\text{bal}}$ remains unchanged on inclusion of MDI.