Identifying $\alpha$-cluster configurations in $^{20}$Ne via ultracentral Ne+Ne Collisions

Abstract

The initial-state geometry in relativistic heavy-ion collisions provides a novel probe to nuclear cluster structure. For $^{20}$Ne, a novel approach is proposed to distinguish between the cluster configurations (5$\alpha$ versus $\alpha + ^{16}$O) in order to gain insight into nuclear structure transitions governed by many-body quantum correlations. Through analytical calculations with the microscopic Brink model and event-by-event simulations using the hydrodynamic framework, we establish the normalized symmetric cumulant NSC (3, 2) and the Pearson coefficient $\rho_2 (v_{2}^{2},\ \delta [p_{\mathrm{T}}])$ as quantitative discriminators to reveal enhanced cluster degrees of freedom in the ground state of $^{20}$Ne. The ultracentral Ne+Ne collisions at the LHC can experimentally identify these two competing configurations via these flow correlation observables, opening a new paradigm for probing clustering in light nuclei.