Triaxial shapes and the angular structure of nuclear three-body correlations
Fuente:
arXiv
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866917376912523264 |
|---|---|
| author | Mehrabpour, Hadi Giacalone, Giuliano Luzum, Matthew W. |
| author_facet | Mehrabpour, Hadi Giacalone, Giuliano Luzum, Matthew W. |
| contents | Relativistic nuclear collisions have emerged as a new tool for probing many-body correlations of nucleons in the ground states of atomic nuclei. Here, we investigate the connection between three-nucleon correlations inside nuclei and three-particle correlations measured in collider final states. We work within a classical rigid-rotor picture of the colliding ions, whereby correlations in the lab frame arise solely from the averaging over orientations of an intrinsic-frame nucleon density with a triaxial quadrupole deformation, characterized by Bohr parameters $β_2$ and $γ$. With a Gaussian Ansatz for the density, we derive the leading-order form of the resulting two- and three-body nucleon distributions and perform a detailed analysis of their harmonic structure. With this, we provide an analytical understanding of empirical results linking shape parameters to final-state observables, notably, the fact that the covariance of the squared elliptic flow ($v_2^2$) with the mean transverse momentum ($[p_T]$), as well as the skewness of $[p_T]$ fluctuations, are to leading order proportional to $β_2^3 \cos(3γ)$. This elucidates the connection between three-nucleon densities, nuclear triaxiality, and three-particle correlations in high-energy nuclear collisions. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_00619 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Triaxial shapes and the angular structure of nuclear three-body correlations Mehrabpour, Hadi Giacalone, Giuliano Luzum, Matthew W. Nuclear Theory High Energy Physics - Experiment High Energy Physics - Phenomenology Nuclear Experiment Relativistic nuclear collisions have emerged as a new tool for probing many-body correlations of nucleons in the ground states of atomic nuclei. Here, we investigate the connection between three-nucleon correlations inside nuclei and three-particle correlations measured in collider final states. We work within a classical rigid-rotor picture of the colliding ions, whereby correlations in the lab frame arise solely from the averaging over orientations of an intrinsic-frame nucleon density with a triaxial quadrupole deformation, characterized by Bohr parameters $β_2$ and $γ$. With a Gaussian Ansatz for the density, we derive the leading-order form of the resulting two- and three-body nucleon distributions and perform a detailed analysis of their harmonic structure. With this, we provide an analytical understanding of empirical results linking shape parameters to final-state observables, notably, the fact that the covariance of the squared elliptic flow ($v_2^2$) with the mean transverse momentum ($[p_T]$), as well as the skewness of $[p_T]$ fluctuations, are to leading order proportional to $β_2^3 \cos(3γ)$. This elucidates the connection between three-nucleon densities, nuclear triaxiality, and three-particle correlations in high-energy nuclear collisions. |
| title | Triaxial shapes and the angular structure of nuclear three-body correlations |
| topic | Nuclear Theory High Energy Physics - Experiment High Energy Physics - Phenomenology Nuclear Experiment |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.00619 |