Constraining the quadrupole deformation of atomic nuclei with relativistic nuclear collisions

Preliminary data by the STAR collaboration at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider shows that the elliptic flow, $v_2$, and the average transverse momentum, $langle p_t rangle$, of final-state hadrons produced in high-multiplicity $^{238}$U+$^{238}$U collisions are negatively correlated. This observation brings experimental evidence of a significant prolate deformation, $betaapprox 0.3$, in the colliding $^{238}$U nuclei. I show that a quantitative description of this new phenomenon can be achieved within the hydrodynamic framework of heavy-ion collisions, and that thus such kind of data in the context of high-energy nuclear experiments can help constrain the quadrupole deformation of the colliding species.