Light clusters in warm stellar matter: calibrating the cluster couplings

Abstract

The abundances of light clusters within a formalism that considers in-medium effects are calculated using several relativistic mean-field models, with both density-dependent and density-independent couplings. Clusters are introduced as new quasiparticles, with a modified coupling to the scalar meson field. A comparison with experimental data from heavy ion collisions allows settling the model dependence of the results and the determination of the couplings of the light clusters to the meson fields. We find that extra experimental constraints at higher density are needed to convincingly pin down the density associated to the melting of clusters in the dense nuclear medium. The role of neutron rich clusters, such as ${}^6$He, in asymmetric matter is discussed.

Comments: 10 pages, 8 figures, and 1 table; accepted for publication in the EPJA Topical Issue "Light Clusters in Nuclei and Nuclear Matter: Nuclear Structure and Decay, Heavy Ion Collisions, and Astrophysics"