Measuring neutron skin by grazing isobaric collisions

Neutron skin thickness ($Δr_{\rm np}$) of nuclei and the inferred nuclear symmetry energy are of critical importance to nuclear physics and astrophysics. It is traditionally measured by nuclear processes with significant theoretical uncertainties. We recently proposed an indirect measurement of the $Δr_{\rm np}$ by charged hadron multiplicities in central isobaric collisions at relativistic energies, which are sensitive to nuclear densities. In this Letter, we propose a direct measurement of the $Δr_{\rm np}$ by using net-charge multiplicities in ultra-peripheral (grazing) collisions of those isobars, under the assumption that they are simple superimposition of nucleon-nucleon interactions. We illustrate this novel approach by the TRENTO and URQMD models.

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