Mass number scaling in ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions from a hydrodynamical approach

We study the different nucleus-nucleus collisions, O+Au, S+S, S+Ag, S+Au and Pb+Pb, at the CERN-SPS energy in a one-fluid hydrodynamical approach using a parametrization based on baryon stopping in terms of the thickness of colliding nuclei. Good agreement with measured particle spectra is achieved. We deduce the mass number scaling behaviour of the initial energy density. We find that the equilibration time is nearly independent of the size of the colliding nuclei.Comment: 27 pages, figures included, submitted to European Physical Journa

Initial Conditions in the One-Fluid Hydrodynamical Description of Ultrarelativistic Nuclear Collisions

We present a phenomenological model for the initial conditions needed in a one-fluid hydrodynamical description of ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions at CERN-SPS. The basic ingredient is the parametrization of the baryon stopping, i.e. the rapidity distribution, as a function of the thickness of the nuclei. We apply the model to S + S and Pb + Pb collisions and find after hydrodynamical evolution reasonable agreement with the data

Dynamical freeze-out condition in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions

We determine the decoupling surfaces for the hydrodynamic description of heavy ion collisions at RHIC and LHC by comparing the local hydrodynamic expansion rate with the microscopic pion-pion scattering rate. The pion $p_T$ spectra for nuclear collisions at RHIC and LHC are computed by applying the Cooper-Frye procedure on the dynamical-decoupling surfaces, and compared with those obtained from the constant-temperature freeze-out surfaces. Comparison with RHIC data shows that the system indeed decouples when the expansion rate becomes comparable with the pion scattering rate. The dynamical decoupling based on the rates comparison also suggests that the effective decoupling temperature in central heavy ion collisions remains practically unchanged from RHIC to LHC.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figure

Elliptic flow in nuclear collisions at the Large Hadron Collider

We use perfect-fluid hydrodynamical model to predict the elliptic flow coefficients in Pb + Pb collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The initial state for the hydrodynamical calculation for central $A + A$ collisions is obtained from the perturbative QCD + saturation (EKRT) model. The centrality dependence of the initial state is modeled by the optical Glauber model. We show that the baseline results obtained from the framework are in good agreement with the data from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), and show predictions for the $p_T$ spectra and elliptic flow of pions in Pb + Pb collisions at the LHC. Also mass and multiplicity effects are discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure

Heavy Ion Physics at the LHC with the ATLAS Detector

The ATLAS detector at CERN will provide a high-resolution longitudinally-segmented calorimeter and precision tracking for the upcoming study of heavy ion collisions at the LHC (sqrt(s_NN)=5520 GeV). The calorimeter covers |eta|<5 with both electromagnetic and hadronic sections, while the inner detector spectrometer covers |eta|<2.5. ATLAS will study a full range of observables necessary to characterize the hot and dense matter formed at the LHC. Global measurements (particle multiplicities, collective flow) will provide access into its thermodynamic and hydrodynamic properties. Measuring complete jets out to 100's of GeV will allow detailed studies of energy loss and its effect on jets. Quarkonia will provide a handle on deconfinement mechanisms. ATLAS will also study the structure of the nucleon and nucleus using forward physics probes and ultraperipheral collisions, both enabled by segmented Zero Degree Calorimeters.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, submitted to the Proceedings of Quark Matter 2006, Shanghai, China, November 14-20, 200

Temperature dependent sound velocity in hydrodynamic equations for relativistic heavy-ion collisions

We analyze the effects of different forms of the sound-velocity function cs(T) on the hydrodynamic evolution of matter formed in the central region of relativistic heavy-ion collisions. At high temperatures (above the critical temperature Tc) the sound velocity is calculated from the recent lattice simulations of QCD, while in the low temperature region it is obtained from the hadron gas model. In the intermediate region we use different interpolations characterized by the values of the sound velocity at the local maximum (at T = 0.4 Tc) and local minimum (at T = Tc). In all considered cases the temperature dependent sound velocity functions yield the entropy density, which is consistent with the lattice QCD simulations at high temperature. Our calculations show that the presence of a distinct minimum of the sound velocity leads to a very long (about 20 fm/c) evolution time of the system, which is not compatible with the recent estimates based on the HBT interferometry. Hence, we conclude that the hydrodynamic description is favored in the case where the cross-over phase transition renders the smooth sound velocity function with a possible shallow minimum at Tc.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, talk given at SQM'07 Levoca, Slovaki