Nuclear cluster structure effect in ${}^{16}$O+${}^{16}$O collisions at the top RHIC energy

Abstract

Using the improved string-melting version of a Multi-Phase Transport model, we investigated the impact of nuclear geometry of ${}^{16}$O on anisotropic flows in O+O collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=200$ GeV. To evaluate the influence of nuclear structure and potential alpha clustering, we implemented four candidate configurations: Woods-Saxon, tetrahedron, square, and Nuclear Lattice Effective Field Theory. Initial-state geometry is quantified via the eccentricity cumulant ratio ${\epsilon }_2\{4\}/{\epsilon }_2\{2\}$, which provides a robust and evolution-independent measure sensitive to configuration differences. The model reproduces $v_2(p_{\mathrm{T}})$ at low $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ and $v_3(p_{\mathrm{T}})$ across the full $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ range, with integrated $v_2\{2\}$ and $v_3\{2\}$ matching the STAR data, demonstrating that transport dynamics captures the essential collectivity in this intermediate-size system. These findings establish a baseline for extending nuclear-structure studies in O+O collisions to other energies and differential observables within a unified transport model framework.

An improved AMPT-SM model has been adopted, which is detailed in the new appendix

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• Open charm production and ${\Lambda }_c^{+}/D^0$ ratio in pp and Au+Au collisions at the RHIC