Azimuthal distributions of radial momentum and velocity in relativistic heavy ion collisions
- Received Date: 2011-09-09
- Accepted Date: 2011-08-31
- Available Online: 2012-05-05
Abstract: Azimuthal distributions of radial (transverse) momentum, mean radial momentum, and mean radial velocity of final-state particles are suggested for relativistic heavy ion collisions. Using the AMPT transport model with string melting, the distributions of Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV are presented and studied. It is demonstrated that the distribution of total radial momentum is more sensitive to the anisotropic expansion, as the anisotropies of final-state particles and their associated transverse momentums are both counted in the measurement. The mean radial velocity distribution is compared with the radial flow velocity. The thermal motion contributes an isotropic constant to the mean radial velocity.