About 10 μs after the Big Bang, the universe was filled—in addition to photons and leptons—with strong-interaction matter consisting of quarks and gluons, which transitioned to hadrons at ...temperatures close to kT = 150 MeV and densities several times higher than those found in nuclei. This quantum chromodynamics (QCD) matter can be created in the laboratory as a transient state by colliding heavy ions at relativistic energies. The different phases in which QCD matter may exist depend for example on temperature, pressure or baryochemical potential, and can be probed by studying the emission of electromagnetic radiation. Electron–positron pairs emerge from the decay of virtual photons, which immediately decouple from the strong interaction, and thus provide information about the properties of QCD matter at various stages. Here, we report the observation of virtual photon emission from baryon-rich QCD matter. The spectral distribution of the electron–positron pairs is nearly exponential, providing evidence for a source of temperature in excess of 70 MeV with constituents whose properties have been modified, thus reflecting peculiarities of strong-interaction QCD matter. Its bulk properties are similar to the dense matter formed in the final state of a neutron star merger, as apparent from recent multimessenger observation.
.
The centrality determination for Au + Au collisions at 1.23
A
GeV, as measured with HADES at the GSI-SIS18, is described. In order to extract collision geometry related quantities, such as the ...average impact parameter or number of participating nucleons, a Glauber Monte Carlo approach is employed. For the application of this model to collisions at this relatively low centre-of-mass energy of
s
NN
=
2
.
42
GeV special investigations were performed. As a result a well defined procedure to determine centrality classes for ongoing analyses of heavy-ion data is established.
We present the first observation of K^{-} and ϕ absorption within nuclear matter by means of π^{-}-induced reactions on C and W targets at an incident beam momentum of 1.7 GeV/c studied with HADES ...at SIS18/GSI. The double ratio (K^{-}/K^{+})_{W}/(K^{-}/K^{+})_{C} is found to be 0.319±0.009(stat)_{-0.012}^{+0.014}(syst) indicating a larger absorption of K^{-} in heavier targets as compared to lighter ones. The measured ϕ/K^{-} ratios in π^{-}+C and π^{-}+W reactions within the HADES acceptance are found to be equal to 0.55±0.04(stat)_{-0.07}^{+0.06}(syst) and to 0.63±0.06(stat)_{-0.11}^{+0.11}(syst), respectively. The similar ratios measured in the two different reactions demonstrate for the first time experimentally that the dynamics of the ϕ meson in nuclear medium is strongly coupled to the K^{-} dynamics. The large difference in the ϕ production off C and W nuclei is discussed in terms of a strong ϕN in-medium coupling. These results are relevant for the description of heavy-ion collisions and the structure of neutron stars.
Hadron production (
π
±
, proton,
Λ
,
K
S
0
,
K
±
) in
π
-
+
C
and
π
-
+
W
collisions is investigated at an incident pion beam momentum of
1.7
GeV
/
c
. This comprehensive set of data measured with ...HADES at SIS18/GSI significantly extends the existing world data on hadron production in pion induced reactions and provides a new reference for models that are commonly used for the interpretation of heavy-ion collisions. The measured inclusive differential production cross-sections are compared with state-of-the-art transport model (GiBUU, SMASH) calculations. The (semi-) exclusive channel
π
-
+
A
→
Λ
+
K
S
0
+
X
, in which the kinematics of the strange hadrons are correlated, is also investigated and compared to a model calculation. Agreement and remaining tensions between data and the current version of the considered transport models are discussed.
.
The combination of a production target for secondary beams, an optimized ion optical beam line setting, in-beam detectors for minimum ionizing particles with high rate capability, and an efficient ...large acceptance spectrometer around the reaction target constitutes an experimental opportunity to study in detail hadronic interactions utilizing pion beams impinging on nucleons and nuclei. For the 0.4-2.0GeV/c pion momentum regime such a facility is located at the heavy ion synchrotron accelerator SIS18 in Darmstadt (Germany). The layout of the apparatus, performance of its components and encouraging results from a first commissioning run are presented.
We present high-statistic data on charged-pion emission from Au + Au collisions at
s
NN
=
2.4
GeV
(corresponding to
E
beam
=
1.23
A GeV
) in four centrality classes in the range 0–40% of the most ...central collisions. The data are analyzed as a function of transverse momentum, transverse mass, rapidity, and polar angle. Pion multiplicity per participating nucleon decreases moderately with increasing centrality. The polar angular distributions are found to be non-isotropic even for the most central event class. Our results on pion multiplicity fit well into the general trend of the available world data, but undershoot by
2.5
σ
data from the FOPI experiment measured at slightly lower beam energy. We compare our data to state-of-the-art transport model calculations (PHSD, IQMD, PHQMD, GiBUU and SMASH) and find substantial differences between the measurement and the results of these calculations.
.
We report on the investigation of dielectron production in tagged quasi-free neutron-proton collisions by using a deuteron beam of kinetic energy 1.25GeV/u impinging on a liquid hydrogen target. ...Our measurements with HADES confirm a significant excess of
e
+
e
-
pairs above the
π
0
mass in the exclusive channel
d
p
→
n
p
e
+
e
-
(
p
s
p
e
c
t
)
as compared to the exclusive channel
p
p
e
+
e
-
measured in proton-proton collisions at the same energy. That excess points to different bremsstrahlung production mechanisms. Two models were evaluated for the role of the charged pion exchange between nucleons and double-
Δ
excitation combined with intermediate
ρ
-meson production. Differential cross sections as a function of the
e
+
e
-
invariant mass and of the angles of the virtual photon, proton and electrons provide valuable constraints and encourage further investigations on both experimental and theoretical sides.
The HADES collaboration uses the e
+
e
−
production as a probe of the resonance matter produced in collisions at incident energies of 1-3.5 GeV/nucleon at GSI. Elementary reactions provide useful ...references for these studies and give information on resonance Dalitz decays (R→Ne
+
e
−
). Such processes are sensitive to the structure of time-like electromagnetic baryon transitions in a kinematic range where (off-shell) vector mesons play a crucial role. Results obtained in proton-proton reactions and in a commissioning pion-beam experiment are reported and prospects for future pion beam experiments and for first hyperon Dalitz decay measurements are described. The connection with the investigations of medium effects to be continued with HADES in the next years at SIS18 and SIS100 is also discussed.
Preliminary results on the production of weakly decaying strange hadrons are reported for collisions of Au+Au at 1.23 AGeV beam energy studied with the HADES detector at GSI in Darmstadt. At this ...collision energy all strange particles are created below their elementary threshold. The reconstruction of the investigated particles (i.e. Λ and K0s) via the topology of their charged decay products (V0 reconstruction) is presented in detail. From the corrected yields of Λ and K0s the ratio K0S Λ can be calculated and included into a statistical model fit.
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