Study of the core-corona effect in relativistic heavy ion collisions

• Grant number: 12/06550-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2012
• End date: June 30, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Nuclear Physics
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Gameiro Munhoz
• Grantee: Diógenes Domenicis Gimenez
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física (IF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In relativistic heavy ion collisions, the Glauber model can be used to estimate the centrality of the collision. Results for the hadron production in Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions as a function of the centrality show a different behavior depending on the number of participant nucleons for these systems. One possible explanation for this behavior is the hypothesis of the formation of two distinct regions in the fireball formed in the collision: a central region of higher density, called a core and a peripheral region, less dense, called the corona. In this project, we will investigate the possibility of formation of these two regions in the fireball from the predictions of the initial energy density conditions in relativistic heavy ion collisions, seeking to compare the average characteristics of the fireball formed from these predictions with those needed to reproduce the data using this core-corona approach. (AU)