Further evidence for a stiff nuclear equation of state from a transverse-momentum analysis of Ar(1800 MeV/nucleon) + KCl

The novel momentum analysis technique introduced by Danielewicz and Odyniec can be used to detect and exhibit collective flow in the light system Ar(1800 MeV/nucleon) + KCl where the usual kinetic energy flow analysis fails. The microscopic Vlasov-Uehling-Uhlenbeck theory which includes the nuclear mean field, two-body collisions, and Pauli blocking is used to study this phenomenon. The resulting transverse momentum transfers turn out to be quite sensitive to the nuclear equation of state. From a comparison with experimental data, evidence is presented for a rather stiff nuclear equation of state. The cascade model is unable to describe the data.