The Nuclear Symmetry Energy in Heavy Ion Collisions

Abstract

In this contribution I discuss the nuclear symmetry energy in the regime of hadronic degrees of freedom. The density dependence of the symmetry energy is important from very low densities in supernova explosions, to the structure of neutron-rich nuclei around saturation density, and to several times saturation density in neutron stars. Heavy ion collisions are the only means to study this density dependence in the laboratory. Numerical simulations of transport theories are used to extract the equation-of-state, and thus also the symmetry energy. I discuss some examples, which relate particularly to the high density symmetry energy, which is of particular interest today. I review the status and point out some open problems in the determination of the symmetry energy in heavy ion collisions.