Cold compression of nuclei induced by antiprotons

Abstract

On the basis of a dynamical Relativistic Mean Field (RMF) model we study the response of a nucleus on the antiproton implanted in its interior. We solve the Vlasov equation for the antiproton-nuclear system and show assuming a moderately attractive antiproton optical potential that the compressed state is formed on a rather short time scale of about 4-10 fm/c. The evolution of the system after antiproton annihilation is simulated using the Giessen Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (GiBUU) transport model. Finally, several sensitive observables to the antiproton annihilation in a compressed nuclear configuration are proposed, e.g. the nucleon kinetic energy spectra and the total invariant mass distributions of produced mesons.

Comments: Invited talk given by I.N. Mishustin at the International Conference on Low Energy Antiproton Physics (LEAP'08), Vienna, Austria, Sept. 15-19, 2008