Disappearance of Elliptic Flow: A New Probe for the Nuclear Equation of State

P. Danielewicz, Roy A. Lacey, P. -B. Gossiaux, C. Pinkenburg, P. Chung, J. M. Alexander, R. L. McGrath

Published 1998-03-26Version 1

Using a relativistic hadron transport model, we investigate the utility of the elliptic flow excitation function as a probe for the stiffness of nuclear matter and for the onset of a possible quark-gluon-plasma (QGP) phase-transition at AGS energies 1 < E_Beam < 11 AGeV. The excitation function shows a strong dependence on the nuclear equation of state, and exhibits characteristic signatures which could signal the onset of a phase transition to the QGP.