Speaker
Description
We propose a novel method for measuring the neutron skin of heavy nuclei using collider experiments. Specifically, we demonstrate that the neutron skin thickness of the lead nucleus can be extracted in p+Pb collisions by analyzing a double ratio: The ratio of net electric charge to net baryon number measured near the lead-going rapidity, taken for high-multiplicity events and divided by the same ratio for low-multiplicity events. We compute the expected sensitivity of the double ratio to the neutron skin within a comprehensive (3+1)D relativistic hydrodynamic framework that incorporates multiple conserved charge currents and a charge-dependent lattice-QCD-based equation of state. We provide predictions for both p+Pb collisions at √sNN = 72 GeV and √sNN = 5.02 TeV, corresponding to the center of mass energies realized in the SMOG2 fixed-target setup at LHCb and the LHC collider mode, respectively. We will also present predictions for the same observable in Pb+Pb collisions and the potential to extract the Pb neutron skin in those.