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Embedding short-range correlations in relativistic density functionals through quasi-deuterons
Abstract The formation of clusters at sub-saturation densities, as a result of many-body correlations, constitutes an essential feature for a reliable modelization of the nuclear matter equation of state (EoS). Phenomenological models that make use of energy density functionals (EDFs) offer a convenient approach to account for the presence of these bound states of nucleons when introduced as additional degrees of freedom. However, in these models clusters dissolve, by construction, when the nuclear saturation density is approached from below, revealing inconsistencies with recent findings that evidence the existence of short-range correlations (SRCs) even at larger densities. The idea of this work is to incorporate SRCs in established models for the EoS, in light of the importance of these features for the description of heavy-ion collisions, nuclear structure and in the astrophysical context. Our aim is to describe SRCs at supra-saturation densities by using effective quasi-clusters immersed in dense matter as a surrogate for correlations, in a regime where cluster dissolution is usually predicted in phenomenological models. Within the EDF framework, we explore a novel approach to embed SRCs within a relativistic mean-field model with density dependent couplings through the introduction of suitable in-medium modifications of the cluster properties, in particular more »
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NSF-PAR ID:
10358501
Journal Name:
The European Physical Journal A
Volume:
58
Issue:
7
ISSN:
1434-601X
5. A bstract The production of prompt D 0 , D + , and D *+ mesons was measured at midrapidity (| y | < 0.5) in Pb–Pb collisions at the centre-of-mass energy per nucleon–nucleon pair $$\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$$ s NN = 5 . 02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The D mesons were reconstructed via their hadronic decay channels and their production yields were measured in central (0–10%) and semicentral (30–50%) collisions. The measurement was performed up to a transverse momentum ( p T ) of 36 or 50 GeV/c depending on the D meson species and the centrality interval. For the first time in Pb–Pb collisions at the LHC, the yield of D 0 mesons was measured down to p T = 0, which allowed a model-independent determination of the p T -integrated yield per unit of rapidity (d N/ d y ). A maximum suppression by a factor 5 and 2.5 was observed with the nuclear modification factor ( R AA ) of prompt D mesons at p T = 6–8 GeV/c for the 0–10% and 30–50% centrality classes, respectively. The D-meson R AA is compared with that of charged pions, charged hadrons, and Jmore »