报告题目: Probing the Equation of State of Superdense Neutron-Rich Matter with Terrestrial Nuclear Reactions
报告人: Professor Bao-An Li (Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University-Commerce)
报告时间:8月14日(周二)上午9:45，地点：田家炳楼南楼205
报告摘要:Neutron stars are highly condensed stellar objects produced in supernova explosions, the end point in the evolution of more massive stars. The masses of neutron stars are approximately in the range of 1-2 times of the sun, whereas their typical radii are only 10-20km. The matter they contain, primarily neutrons, is therefore the densest found outside black holes in the universe. Neutron stars thus provide a laboratory to test our understanding of nature at the extreme, and verify our theories of matter, energy and their interactions. However, neutron stars are still among the most mysterious objects in the universe and they pose a great scientific challenge. The structure and properties of neutron stars are determined by the Equation of State (EOS which is a relationship among pressure, density and temperature) of neutron-rich nuclear matter. For the latter, what has been most uncertain is the density dependence of nuclear symmetry energy related to the energy cost of converting protons into neutrons in nuclear medium at various densities. Nuclear reactions conducted in terrestrial laboratories, especially heavy-ion reactions induced by highly neutron-rich radioactive beams, can produce nuclear matter similar to those contained in neutron stars. In this talk, I will first review the latest progress in constraining the EOS of neutron-rich nuclear matter especially the density dependence of nuclear symmetry energy around and below the saturation density of nuclear matter. I will then discuss a few open questions regarding the symmetry energy at supra-saturation densities. Finally, several ramifications of nuclear symmetry energy on properties of neutron stars and gravitational waves will be discussed.
个人介绍：
Prof. Bao-An Li received his B.S. degree in physics from Lanzou University in 1983 and his Ph.D. degree in physics in 1991 from Michigan State University. He is currently a professor of physics at Texas A&M University-Commerce. Dr. Li’s research interests are mainly in nuclear reactions induced by neutron-rich nuclei, nuclear astrophysics and ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. His work has led to over 160 referred publications that have received so far totally over 7,000 citations and over 200 talks at various scholarly forums.
Chang Jiang Chair Professor, Xian Jiao Tong University, 2010-present
Professor of Physics with Tenure, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Affiliated faculty in the Department of Chemistry, TAMU-Commerce, Aug. 15, 2006-present (the department head from Aug. 15, 2006-Aug. 23, 2011)
Professor of Physics, Department of Chemistry and Physics, Arkansas State University
(2004-Aug. 15, 2006) (Granted one-year leave with tenure at ASU from Aug .15 2006 to Aug. 14, 2007 while being the department head with tenure at TAMU-Commerce)
Associate Professor (2000 � 2004)
Assistant Professor (1998 � 2000), Department of Chemistry and Physics, Arkansas State University
Associate Research Scientist at the Cyclotron Institute & Visiting Assistant Professor at the Department of Physics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Jan. 1994 - Aug. 1998
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Hahn-Meitner Institute & Free University of Berlin, Germany, March 1992 - Dec. 1993
Visiting Research Scholar, The Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, June - Aug. 1987
Visiting Research Scholar, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA, July 1986 - June 1987
主要代表作：
1）Super-soft symmetry energy encountering non-Newtonian gravity in neutron starsDe-Hua Wen, Bao-An Li and Lie-Wen Chen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 211102 (2009).
2）Circumstantial evidence for a soft nuclear symmetry energy at supra-saturation densities， Zhigang Xiao, Bao-An Li, Lie-Wen Chen, Gao-Chan Yong and Ming Zhang
Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 062502 (2009).
3) Recent Progress and New Challenges in Isospin Physics with Heavy-Ion Reactions
Bao-An Li, L.W. Chen and C.M. Ko, Physics Reports 464, 113 (2008).
4) Probing stiffness of nuclear symmetry energy with isospin diffusion in heavy-ion collisions, L.W. Chen, C.M. Ko and Bao-An Li, Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 32701 (2005).
5) Effects of symmetry energy on two-nucleon correlation functions in heavy-ion
collisions induced by neutron-rich nuclei, L.W. Chen, V. Greco, C.M. Ko and Bao-An Li, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 162701 (2003).
6) Studies of superdense hadronic matter in a relativistic transport model, Bao-An Li, C.M. Ko, A.T. Sustich and B. Zhang, Topical Review, Int. Journal of Modern Physics, Vol. 10, Nos. 4 & 5, 267-352 (2001).
7) Probing the high density behavior of nuclear symmetry energy with high energy
heavy-ion collisions, Bao-An Li, Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 192701 (2002).
8) Neutron-proton differential flow as a probe of isospin-dependence of nuclear equation of state, Bao-An Li, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 4221 (2000).
9) Differential flow in heavy-ion collisions at balance energies, Bao-An Li and A.T. Sustich, Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 5004 (1999) .
10) Isospin dependence of transverse flow in heavy-ion collisions at intermediate energies, Bao-An Li, Zhongzhou Ren, C.M. Ko and S.J. Yennello, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76 (1996) 4492.