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arXiv · 2501.16071

Imaging nuclei by smashing them at high energies: how are their shapes revealed after destruction?

Jiangyong Jia
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Abstract

High-energy nuclear collisions have recently emerged as a promising ``imaging-by-smashing'' approach that may reveal the intrinsic shapes of atomic nuclei. Here, I outline a conceptual framework for this technique, explaining how nuclear shapes are encoded during quark-gluon plasma formation and evolution, and how they can be decoded from final-state particle distributions. I highlight the method's potential to advance our understanding of both nuclear structure and quark-gluon plasma physics.

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Jiangyong Jia. 2025-01-27. Imaging nuclei by smashing them at high energies: how are their shapes revealed after destruction?. https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.16071

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