arXiv:nucl-th/9803047·v1·Nuclear Theory
Disappearance of Elliptic Flow: A New Probe for the Nuclear Equation of State
P. Danielewicz (2)🇺🇸 · Roy A. Lacey (1)🇺🇸 · P.-B. Gossiaux (2,3)🇺🇸 · C. Pinkenburg (1)🇺🇸 · P. Chung (1)🇺🇸 · J. M. Alexander (1)🇺🇸 · R. L. McGrath (1) ((1) Depts. of Chemistry and Physics, SUNY at Stony Brook, (2) NSCL Cyclotron Lab., MSU, (3) SUBATECH, Nantes)🇺🇸
Abstract
Using a relativistic hadron transport model, we investigate the utility of the elliptic flow excitation function as a probe for the stiffness of nuclear matter and for the onset of a possible quark-gluon-plasma (QGP) phase-transition at AGS energies 1 < E_Beam < 11 AGeV. The excitation function shows a strong dependence on the nuclear equation of state, and exhibits characteristic signatures which could signal the onset of a phase transition to the QGP.
Comments: 11 pages, 4 Postscript figures, uses epsf.sty, submitted to Physical Review Letters