No Arabic abstract
We calculate the contribution to the polarization of $Lambda$ hyperons in relativistic nuclear collisions at high energy from the decays of $Sigma^*(1385)$ and $Sigma^0$, which are the predominant sources of $Lambda$ production besides the primary component, as a function of the $Lambda$ momentum. Particularly, we estimate the longitudinal component of the mean spin vector as a function of the azimuthal angle in the transverse plane, assuming that primary $Sigma^*$ and $Sigma^0$ polarization follow the predictions of local thermodynamic equilibrium in a relativistic fluid. Provided that the rapidity dependence around midrapidity of polarization is negligible, we find that this component of the overall spin vector has a very similar pattern to the primary one. Therefore, we conclude that the secondary decays cannot account for the discrepancy in sign between experimental data and hydrodynamic model predictions of the longitudinal polarization of $Lambda$ hyperons recently measured by the STAR experiment at RHIC.
Predictions for the global polarization of $Lambda$ hyperons in Au+Au collisions at moderately relativistic collision energies, 2.4 $leqsqrt{s_{NN}}leq$ 11 GeV, are made. These are based on the thermodynamic approach to the global polarization incorporated into the model of the three-fluid dynamics. Centrality dependence of the polarization is studied. It is predicted that the polarization reaches a maximum or a plateau (depending on the equation of state and centrality) at $sqrt{s_{NN}}approx$ 3 GeV. It is found that the global polarization increases with increasing width of the rapidity window around the midrapidity.
Radiative decays of decuplet hyperons and octet hyperon charge radii are evaluated in a chiral constituent quark model emphasizing the role of exchange currents. Exchange currents largely cancel for the M1 decay amplitudes, while they dominate the E2 amplitude. Due to the pseudoscalar meson cloud the charge radii of Sigma^- and Xi^- are almost as large as the proton radius, in agreement with recent experimental results from SELEX. Strangeness suppression is weakened by exchange currents for several observables.
The spinodal amplification of density fluctuations is treated perturbatively within dissipative fluid dynamics for the purpose of elucidating the prospects for this mechanism to cause a phase separation to occur during a relativistic nuclear collision. The present study includes not only viscosity but also heat conduction (whose effect on the growth rates is of comparable magnitude but opposite), as well as a gradient term in the local pressure, and the corresponding dispersion relation for collective modes in bulk matter is derived from relativistic fluid dynamics. A suitable two-phase equation of state is obtained by interpolation between a hadronic gas and a quark-gluon plasma, while the transport coefficients are approximated by simple parametrizations that are suitable at any degree of net baryon density. We calculate the degree of spinodal amplification occurring along specific dynamical phase trajectories characteristic of nuclear collision at various energies. The results bring out the important fact that the prospects for spinodal phase separation to occur can be greatly enhanced by careful tuning of the collision energy to ensure that the thermodynamic conditions associated with the maximum compression lie inside the region of spinodal instability.
We review studies of vortical motion and the resulting global polarization of $Lambda$ and $bar{Lambda}$ hyperons in heavy-ion collisions, in particular, within 3FD model. 3FD predictions for the global midrapidity polarization in the FAIR-NICA energy range are presented. The 3FD simulations indicate that energy dependence of the observed global polarization of hyperons in the midrapidity region is a consequence of the decrease of the vorticity in the central region with the collision energy rise because of pushing out the vorticity field into the fragmentation regions. At high collision energies this pushing-out results in a peculiar vortical structure consisting of two vortex rings: one ring in the target fragmentation region and another one in the projectile fragmentation region with matter rotation being opposite in these two rings.
We present a calculation of the global polarization of Lambda hyperons in relativistic Au-Au collisions at RHIC Beam Energy Scan range sqrt{s}_NN = 7.7 - 200 GeV with a 3+1 dimensional cascade + viscous hydro + cascade model, UrQMD+vHLLE. Within this model, the mean polarization of Lambda in the out-of-plane direction is predicted to decrease rapidly with collision energy from a top value of about 2% at the lowest energy examined. We explore the connection between the polarization signal and thermal vorticity and estimate the feed-down contribution to Lambda polarization due to the decay of higher mass hyperons.