Properties Of Nuclear Matter Research Articles

The Silicon Tracking System of the CBM Experiment at FAIR

The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at the future Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) aims to study the properties of nuclear matter at high net-baryon densities and moderate temperatures.The Silicon Tracking System (STS) is the key detector to reconstruct with a high efficiency up to 1000 charged particle trajectories created in heavy-ion collisions at interaction rates of up to 10 MHz. It will determine the momentum of the particles with a momentum resolution Δp/p ≈ 1-2% which requires ultra-low detector material budget of 0.3-1% X0 per layer. The detector comprise eight layers of double-sided silicon micro-strip sensors and will be placed inside the 1 Tm superconducting magnet which limits the space available, which in turn requires advanced cooling approaches and mechanical design with precise tracking layers alignment. The micro-strip sensors have to be radiation hard and checked for their quality optically and electrically before the assembly.This contribution gives an overview of the STS and presents the status of its component quality control and assembly procedures.

A nuclear matter calculation with the tensor-optimized Fermi sphere method with central interaction

Abstract The tensor-optimized Fermi sphere (TOFS) theory is applied first for the study of the property of nuclear matter using the Argonne V4$^\prime$$NN$ potential. In the TOFS theory, the correlated nuclear matter wave function is taken to be a power-series type of the correlation function $F$, where $F$ can induce central, spin–isospin, tensor, etc. correlations. This expression has been ensured by a linked cluster expansion theorem established in the TOFS theory. We take into account the contributions from all the many-body terms arising from the product of the nuclear matter Hamiltonian $\mathcal{H}$ and $F$. The correlation function is optimally determined in the variation of the total energy of nuclear matter. It is found that the density dependence of the energy per particle in nuclear matter is reasonably reproduced up to the nuclear matter density $\rho \simeq 0.20$ fm$^{-3}$ in the present numerical calculation, in comparison with other methods such as the Brueckner–Hartree–Fock approach.

Parametric correlations in energy density functionals

Parametric correlations are studied in several classes of covariant density functional theories (CDFTs) using a statistical analysis in a large parameter hyperspace. In the present manuscript, we investigate such correlations for two specific types of models, namely, for models with density dependent meson exchange and for point coupling models. Combined with the results obtained previously in Ref. [1] for a non-linear meson exchange model, these results indicate that parametric correlations exist in all major classes of CDFTs when the functionals are fitted to the ground state properties of finite nuclei and to nuclear matter properties. In particular, for the density dependence in the isoscalar channel only one parameter is really independent. Accounting for these facts potentially allows one to reduce the number of free parameters considerably.

Consistent nuclear matter calculations with local three-nucleon interactions

I calculate the energy per particle of symmetric nuclear matter and pure neutron matter in the framework of the microscopic Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approach using some recent interactions derived in chiral perturbation theory at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N3LO) for the nucleon-nucleon ($NN$) force, and next-to-next-to-leading order (N2LO) for the nucleon-nucleon-nucleon ($NNN$) one. The interactions considered in the present work have been adjusted to properties of light nuclei with $A=3$, adopting local regulators for the $NNN$ interaction. I performed several calculations using an effective density dependent two-body force obtained from the original $NNN$ one keeping the same parameters and the same regularization scheme employed in finite light nuclei calculations; I then compared these results with other calculations obtained, retaining the same parameters of the $NNN$ force fixed on light nuclei but using a nonlocal regulator. This second strategy has been often used in the literature due to the easier derivation of the effective $NN$ force in this case. I found that in pure neutron matter the use of local or nonlocal regulators does not sensibly affect the calculation of the energy per particle while in symmetric nuclear matter the use of local or nonlocal regulators produces appreciable differences. Saturation properties of nuclear matter are discussed for the various models considered; the uncertainties on the reported calculations are also estimated.

Scientific program of DERICA—prospective accelerator and storage ring facility for radioactive ion beam research

Studies of radioactive ions (RIs) are the most thriving field of low-energy nuclear physics. In this paper, the concept and the scientific agenda of the prospective accelerator and storage ring facility for RI beam (RIB) research are proposed for a large-scale international project based at the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. The motivation for the new facility is discussed and its characteristics are briefly presented and shown to be comparable to those of advanced world centers, the so-called “RIB factories”. In the project, the emphasis is made on studies with short-lived RIBs in storage rings. A unique feature of the project is the possibility of studying electron–RI interactions in a collider experiment to determine the fundamental properties of nuclear matter, in particular, electromagnetic form factors of exotic nuclei.

Interplay between Delta Particles and Hyperons in Neutron Stars

Abstract We analyze the effects of including Δ(1232) isobars in an equation of state (EoS) for cold, β-stable neutron star (NS) matter, employing relativistic nuclear mean field theory. The selected EoS reproduces the properties of nuclear matter and finite nuclei and, in the astrophysical context, allows for the presence of hyperons in NSs having masses larger than 2 M ⊙. We find that the composition and structure of NSs is critically influenced by the addition of the Δ isobars, which allows us to constrain their interaction with the meson fields, taking into account astrophysical information. Imposing that the EoS is stable and ensures the existence of 2 M ⊙ NSs, as well as requiring agreement with data of Δ excitation in nuclei, we find that, in the absence of other mechanisms stiffening the EoS at high densities, the interaction of the Δ isobars with the sigma and omega meson fields must be at least 10% stronger than those of the nucleons. Moreover, the NS moment of inertia turns out to be sensitive to the presence of Δ isobars, whereas the inclusion of Δ isobars in the EoS allows for smaller stellar radii and for a lower value of the tidal deformability, consistent with the analysis of the GW170817 merger event.

Parameter optimization for the latest quark-meson coupling energy-density functional

The Quark--Meson--Coupling (QMC) model self-consistently relates the dynamics of the internal quark structure of a hadron to the relativistic mean fields arising in nuclear matter. It offers a natural explanation to some open questions in nuclear theory, including the origin of many-body nuclear forces and their saturation, the spin-orbit interaction and properties of hadronic matter at a wide range of densities. The QMC energy density functionals QMC-I and QMC$\pi$-I have been successfully applied to calculate ground state observables of finite nuclei in the Hartree-Fock + BCS approximation, as well as to predict properties of dense nuclear matter and cold non-rotating neutron stars. Here we report the latest development of the model, QMC$\pi$-II, extended to include higher order self-interaction of the $\sigma$ meson. A derivative-free optimization algorithm has been employed to determine a new set of the model parameters and their statistics, including errors and correlations. QMC$\pi$-II predictions for a wide range of properties of even-even nuclei across the nuclear chart, with fewer adjustable parameters, are comparable with other models. Predictions of ground state binding energies of even-even isotopes of superheavy elements with Z$>$96 are particularly encouraging.

Ab initio constraints on thermal effects of the nuclear equation of state

We exploit the many-body self-consistent Green's function method to analyze finite-temperature properties of infinite nuclear matter and to explore the behavior of the thermal index used to simulate thermal effects in equations of state for astrophysical applications. We show how the thermal index is both density and temperature dependent, unlike often considered, and we provide an error estimate based on our ${\it ab~initio}$ calculations. The inclusion of many-body forces is found to be critical for the density dependence of the thermal index. We also compare our results to a parametrization in terms of the density dependence of the nucleon effective mass. Our study questions the validity of predictions made for the gravitational-wave signal from neutron-star merger simulations with a constant thermal index.

Nuclear matter properties at finite temperatures from effective interactions

We study if commonly used nucleon-nucleon effective interactions, obtained from fitting the properties of cold nuclear matter and of finite nuclei, can properly describe the hot dense nuclear matter produced in intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions. We use two representative effective interactions, i.e., an improved isospin- and momentum-dependent interaction with its isovector part calibrated by the results from the \emph{ab initio} non-perturbative self-consistent Green's function (SCGF) approach with chiral forces, and a Skyme-type interaction fitted to the equation of state of cold nuclear matter from chiral effective many-body perturbation theory and the binding energy of finite nuclei. In the mean-field approximation, we evaluate the equation of state and the single-nucleon potential for nuclear matter at finite temperatures and compare them to those from the SCGF approach. We find that the improved isospin- and momentum-dependent interaction reproduces reasonably well the SCGF results due to its weaker momentum dependence of the mean-field potential than in the Skyrme-type interaction. Our study thus indicates that effective interactions with the correct momentum dependence of the mean-filed potential can properly describe the properties of hot dense nuclear matter and are thus suitable for use in transport models to study heavy-ion collisions at intermediate energies.

Isoscalar and isovector giant resonances in 92,94,96,98,100Mo and 90,92,94Zr

The response functions, S(E), and centroid energies, ECEN, of the isoscalar and isovector giant resonances of multipolarity L = 0–3 in 92,94,96,98,100Mo and 90,92,94Zr have been calculated employing the spherical Hartree-Fock (HF) based random phase approximation (RPA) method, using the Skyrme-type effective nucleon-nucleon interaction. In particular, we investigate the recent experimental results of the uncharacteristic behavior of ECEN for the isoscalar giant resonances, by extending our HF-based RPA calculations with only the KDE0v1 interaction to 32 additional Skyrme interactions. The main result of our investigation is that we find significant disagreements between the theoretical and the experimental values of ECEN for isoscalar giant monopole and dipole resonance of some nuclei. For the isoscalar giant octupole resonance we find the theoretical values of the ECEN to be well above the experimental results. We also study the sensitivity of ECEN to nuclear matter (NM) properties, including the effective mass, the incompressibility coefficient and the symmetry energy at saturation density, by determining the Pearson linear correlation coefficient between the calculated values of ECEN and the various nuclear matter properties of each Skyrme parametrization. For the isovector giant dipole resonance we find good agreement between the experimental and theoretical values of ECEN for Skyrme interactions with values of the enhancement coefficient of the energy weighted sum rule, κ, in the range between 0.25–0.70.

Constraint to chiral invariant masses of nucleons from GW170817 in an extended parity doublet model

We construct nuclear matter based on an extended parity doublet model including four light nucleons $N(939)$, $N(1440)$, $N(1535)$, and $N(1650)$. We exclude some values of the chiral invariant masses by requiring the saturation properties of normal nuclear matter; saturation density, binding energy, incompressibility, and symmetry energy. We find further constraint to the chiral invariant masses from the tidal deformability determined by the observation of the gravitational waves from neutron star merger GW170817. Our result shows that the chiral invariant masses are larger than about $600\,$MeV. We also give some predictions on the symmetry energy and the slope parameters in the high density region, which will be measured in future experiments.

Nuclear multipole excitations in the framework of self-consistent Hartree–Fock random phase approximation for Skyrme forces

In this study, the fully self-consistent Hartree–Fock (HF)-based random phase approximation (RPA) calculations were done for the $$^{40}\hbox {Ca}$$ and $$^{48}\hbox {Ca}$$ nuclei using 20 Skyrme-type interactions: KDE0, KDE0v1, SLy4, SLy5, SLy6, SK255, SKI2, SKI3, SKI5, SKM, SKMP, SKP, LNS, SGII, RAPT, SV-bas, SV-m56-O, SV-m64-O, SV-min and T6. Having a large number of Skyrme-force parameterisations requires a continuous search for the best for describing the experimental data. To examine our results, we compared the strength functions S(E), the charge density distribution and centroid energies $$E_{\mathrm{CEN}}$$ of the isoscalar giant monopole resonance (ISGMR), $$J^{\pi } = 0^{+}$$ , $$T = 0$$ , the isovector giant dipole resonance (IVGDR), $$J^{\pi } = 1^{-}$$ , $$T = 1$$ , and isoscalar giant quadrupole resonance (ISGQR), $$J^{\pi } = 2^{+}$$ , $$T = 0$$ with the available experimental data. Moreover, we discussed the sensitivities of the centroid energy $$m_{1}/m_{0}$$ and moment $$m_{1}$$ of the S(E) to the bulk properties of nuclear matter (NM), such as $$K_\mathrm{NM}$$ , the effective mass m* / m and the enhancement factor $$\kappa $$ .

Insights on Skyrme parameters from GW170817

The binary neutron-star merger event, GW170817, has cast a new light on nuclear physics research. Using a neutron-star model that includes a crust equation of state (EoS), we calculate the properties of a 1.4 solar-mass neutron star. The model incorporates more than 200 Skyrme energy density functionals, which describe nuclear matter properties, in the outer liquid core region of the neutron star. We find a power-law relation between the neutron-star tidal deformability, Λ, and the neutron-star radius, R. Without an explicit crust EoS, the model predicts a smaller R and the difference becomes significant for stars with large radii. To connect the neutron star properties with nuclear matter properties, we confront the predicted values for Λ against the Taylor expansion coefficients of the Skyrme interactions. There is no pronounced correlation between Skyrme parameters relevant to symmetric nuclear matter and neutron star properties. However, we find the strongest correlation between Λ and Ksym, the curvature of the density dependence of the symmetry energy at saturation density. At twice the saturation density, our calculations show a strong correlation between Λ and total pressure, providing guidance to laboratory nucleus-nucleus collision experiments.

Consistent Skyrme parametrization and its critical parameter values

A new Skyrme parametrization was developed based on a shortlist of Skyrme forces. These selected parameterizations, 16 in total, were found in a comprehensive study involving 240 parametrizations submitted to constraints related to nuclear matter properties. The critical parameters associated with the liquid-gas phase transition, critical density, critical pressure, and critical temperature are calculated for this new parametrization as well as its flash point.

Estimating the Variation of Neutron Star Observables by Dense Symmetric Nuclear Matter Properties

Recent multi-channel astrophysics observations and the soon-to-be published new measured electromagnetic and gravitation data provide information on the inner structure of the compact stars. These macroscopic observations can significantly increase our knowledge on the neutron star enteriors, providing constraints on the microscopic physical properties. On the other hand, due to the masquarade problem, there are still uncertainties on the various nuclear-matter models and their parameters as well. Calculating the properties of the dense nuclear matter, effective field theories are the most widely-used tools. However, the values of the microscopical parameters need to be set consistently to the nuclear and astrophysical measurements. In this work, we investigate how uncertainties are induced by the variation of the microscopical parameters. We use a symmetric nuclear matter in an extended σ - ω model to see the influence of the nuclear matter parameters. We calculate the dense matter equation of state and give the mass-radius diagram for a simplistic neutron star model. We present that the Landau mass and compressibility modulus of the nuclear matter have definite linear relation to the maximum mass of a Schwarzschild neutron star.

Effect of internal magnetic field on collective flow in heavy ion collisions at intermediate energies

The properties of nuclear matter under extreme conditions of high temperature, density and isospin-asymmetry have attracted wide attentions in recent years. At present, heavy ion reactions in combination with corresponding model simulations are one of the most important ways to investigate this subject. It is known that a strong magnetic field can be created in heavy ion collisions. However, its effect on the motion of charged particles is usually neglected in previous transport model simulations. In this work, within the Ultra-relativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics (UrQMD) model, the temporal evolution and spatial distribution of the internal magnetic field are calculated. The magnetic field strength is found to reach about $eB\approx470$ MeV$^{2}$ ($B\approx8\times10^{16}$ G) for Au+Au collisions at $E_{\text{lab}}$=1 GeV/nucleon with impact parameter of 7 fm. The magnetic field in Cu+Au collisions exhibits somewhat different spatial distribution from that in Au+Au collisions. The magnetic field is found to affect the directed flow of pions at forward and backward rapidities to some extent, dependent of the impact parameter and beam energy while the effect on the elliptic flow is small. This suggests that, because $\pi$ mesons produced in heavy ion collisions at intermediate energies are considered as a sensitive probe for the nuclear symmetry energy, it is necessary to consider the effect of the internal magnetic field.

Cooling Timescale for Protoneutron Stars and Properties of Nuclear Matter: Effective Mass and Symmetry Energy at High Densities

Abstract The cooling process of a protoneutron star (PNS) is investigated with focus on its sensitivity to properties of hot and dense matter. An equation of state, which includes the nucleon effective mass and nuclear symmetry energy at twice the saturation density as control parameters, is constructed for systematic studies. The numerical code utilized in this study follows a quasi-static evolution of a PNS solving the general-relativistic stellar structure with neutrino diffusion. The cooling timescale evaluated from the neutrino light curve is found to be longer for the models with larger effective masses and smaller symmetry energies at high densities. The present results are compared with those for other equations of state and it is found that they are consistent in terms of their dependences on the effective mass and neutron star radius.

Development of shashlik electromagnetic calorimeter for the NICA/MPD

The main goal of the NICA heavy-ion program at JINR is an experimental investigation into the properties of nuclear matter within the energy region of the maximum baryonic density. The Multi Purpose Detector (MPD) is one of the detectors at NICA collider, which is optimized for the study on properties of hot and dense matter in heavy-ion collisions and, in particular, the search for a manifestation of possible deconfinement and/or chiral symmetry restoration phase transitions, critical end-point and mixed quark-hadron phase. Electromagnetic calorimeter (ECal) is an important part of MPD . The particular goal of MPD-ECal is to measure position and energy of photons and electrons. Taking all factors (high energy resolution, high segmentation, large enough distance to the vertex, small Moliere radius, high magnetic field and high time resolution) into consideration, a shashlik-type electromagnetic calorimeter is selected. Therefore the tower consists of 220 layers of lead plates and scintillator plates whose thicknesses are namely 0.3mm/1.5mm. The tower cell is 4×4 cm2 in size. To reduce the dead zones effect, all towers should be cut from four sides at small angles, which will significantly improve the position resolution and the performance homogeneity of the ECal. Currently, energy deposition, energy resolution and position reconstruction are studied through Monte Carlo simulations. A prototype of shashlik Ecal has been built and the cosmic test results show that the number of photoelectrons (Npe) is around 522. By comparing with the previous ECal experimental results and simulation results, it is indirectly considered that the energy resolution of the prototype has reached 5%/√E (GeV) . Key technologies to increase light yield are being studied and will be used in the development of new prototypes.

RMF models with $\sigma$-scaled hadron masses and couplings for the description of heavy-ion collisions below 2 A GeV

Within the relativistic mean-field framework with hadron masses and coupling constants dependent on the mean scalar field we study properties of nuclear matter at finite temperatures, baryon densities and isospin asymmetries relevant for heavy-ion collisions at laboratory energies below 2$A$ GeV. Previously constructed (KVORcut-based and MKVOR-based) models for the description of the cold hadron matter, which differ mainly by the density dependence of the nucleon effective mass and symmetry energy, are extended for finite temperatures. The baryon equation of state, which includes nucleons and $\Delta$ resonances is supplemented by the contribution of the pion gas described either by the vacuum dispersion relation or with taking into account the $s$-wave pion-baryon interaction. Distribution of the charge between components is found. Thermodynamical characteristics on $T-n$ plane are considered. The energy-density and entropy-density isotherms are constructed and a dynamical trajectory of the hadron system formed in heavy-ion collisions is described. The effects of taking into account the $\Delta$ isobars and the $s$-wave pion-nucleon interaction on pion differential cross sections, pion to proton and $\pi^-/\pi^+$ ratios are studied. The liquid-gas first-order phase transition is studied within the same models in isospin-symmetric and asymmetric systems. We demonstrate that our models yield thermodynamic characteristics of the phase transition compatible with available experimental results. In addition, we discuss the scaled variance of baryon and electric charge in the phase transition region. Effect of the non-zero surface tension on spatial redistribution of the electric charge is considered for a possible application to heavy-ion collisions at low energies.

Constraining quark-hadron interface tension in the multimessenger era

We study the interface effects of quark-hadron mixed phase in compact stars. The properties of nuclear matter are obtained based on the relativistic-mean-field model. For the quark phase, we adopt perturbation model with running quark masses and coupling constant. At certain choices of parameter sets, it is found that varying the quark-hadron interface tension will have sizable effects on the radii ($\Delta R \approx 600$ m) and tidal deformabilities ($\Delta \Lambda/\Lambda \approx 50\%$) of hybrid stars. These provide possibilities for us to constrain the quark-hadron interface tension with future gravitational wave observations as well as the ongoing NICER mission.