Spin transport in intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions

Abstract

In this mini-review, we provide a brief status report on investigating spin transport phenomena in intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions by simulating solutions of the spin- and isospin-dependent Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (SIBUU) transport equation using the test-particle method. We outline the physics foundation and technical approach, summarize our main results and identify key challenges in further studying spin transport within the SIBUU framework. As examples, we show how the global and local spin polarizations of nucleons, the spin splitting of nucleon collective flows as well as flows of light clusters at different spin states can be used to explore interesting new physics associated with the nuclear spin-orbit potential in dense neutron-rich medium. The spin-orbit potential and the rigorous angular momentum conservation are also shown to affect spin-averaged observables. Hopefully the new findings and challenges identified here will stimulate further studies both theoretically and experimentally on spin transport in intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions.