Energy Dependence of Collective Flow of Neutrons and Charged Particles in 197AU + 197AU Collisions

Collective flow of nuclear matter is one important aspect of the research performed at heavy ion accelerator laboratories. The phenomenon was predicted on the basis of hydrodynamical calculations [1], and experimental evidence was first presented for the systems 93 Nb + 93 Nb and 197 Au + 197 Au in the projectile energy range between 150 and 1050 MeV/u [2]. The comparison to microscopic calculations shows that nuclear matter is compressed to about two to three times the ground state density and that a substantial fraction of the kinetic energy in the entrance channel is converted into compressional energy [3]. In these calculations, the relation between density and compressional energy depe…