Elliptic flow at SPS and RHIC: From kinetic transport to hydrodynamics
- P.F. Kolb(,)
- CERN and
- Regensburg U. and
- Ohio State U.
- ,
- Ulrich W. Heinz(,)
- CERN and
- Regensburg U. and
- Ohio State U.
7 pages
Published in:
- Phys.Lett.B 500 (2001) 232-240
e-Print:
- hep-ph/0012137 [hep-ph]
Report number:
- CERN-TH-2000-368,
- LBNL-47191
Citations per year
Abstract:
Anisotropic transverse flow is studied in Pb+Pb and Au+Au collisions at SPS and RHIC energies. The centrality and transverse momentum dependence at midrapidity of the elliptic flow coefficient v_2 is calculated in the hydrodynamic and low density limits. Hydrodynamics is found to agree well with the RHIC data for semicentral collisions up to transverse momenta of 1-1.5 GeV/c, but it considerably overestimates the measured elliptic flow at SPS energies. The low density limit LDL is inconsistent with the measured magnitude of v_2 at RHIC energies and with the shape of its p_t-dependence at both RHIC and SPS energies. The success of the hydrodynamic model points to very rapid thermalization in Au+Au collisions at RHIC and provides a serious challenge for kinetic approaches based on classical scattering of on-shell particles.Note:
- 7 pages incl. 5 figures; submitted to Physics Letters B; Ref. 4 and a few typos corrected; no changes in contents Report-no: CERN-TH/2000368; LBNL-47191
- 25.75.-q
- 24.85.+p
- 25.75.Ld
- Relativistic heavy-ion collisions
- Elliptic flow
- scattering: heavy ion
- lead
- gold
- pi: particle flow
- p: particle flow
References(49)
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