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Speckle patterns manifesting from the interaction of coherent X-rays with matter offer a glimpse into the dynamics of nanoscale domains that underpin many emergent phenomena in quantum materials. While the dynamics of the average structure can be followed with time-resolved X-ray diffraction, the ultrafast evolution of local structures in nonequilibrium conditions have thus far eluded detection due to experimental limitations, such as insufficient X-ray coherent flux. Here we demonstrate a nonequilibrium speckle visibility experiment using a split-and-delay setup at an X-ray free-electron laser. Photoinduced electronic domain fluctuations of the magnetic model material Fe$_{3}$O$_{4}$ reveal changes of the trimeron network configuration due to charge dynamics that exhibit liquid-like fluctuations, analogous to a supercooled liquid phase. This suggests that ultrafast dynamics of electronic heterogeneities under optical stimuli are fundamentally different from thermally-driven ones.

Recent quasi-2D systems with judicious exploitation of the atomic monolayer or few-layer architecture exhibit unprecedented physical properties that challenge the conventional wisdom on the condensed matter physics. Here we show that the infinite layer SrCuO2 (SCO), a topical cuprate Mott insulator in the bulk form, can manifest an unexpected metallic state in the quasi-2D limit when SCO is grown on TiO2-terminated SrTiO3 (STO) substrates. Hard x-ray core-level photoemission spectra demonstrate a definitive Fermi level that resembles the hole doped metal. Soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy also reveals features analogous to those of a hole doped Mott insulator. Based on these results, we conclude that the hole doping does not occur at the interfaces between SCO and STO; instead, it comes from the transient layers between the chain type and the planar type structures within the SCO slab. The present work reveals a novel metallic state in the infinite layer SCO and invites further examination to elucidate the spatial extent of this state., Comment: 31 pages, 11 figures. Physical Review B, in press

Measurements of the $^2$H($^{16}$C,$^{16}$C$^{*}$$\rightarrow^4$He+$^{12}$Be or $^6$He+$^{10}$Be)$^2$H inelastic excitation and cluster-decay reactions have been carried out at a beam energy of about 23.5 MeV/u. A specially designed detection system, including one multi-layer silicon-strip telescope at around zero degrees, has allowed the high-efficiency three-fold coincident detection and therefore the event-by-event determination of the energy of the unstable nucleus beam. The decay paths from the $^{16}$C resonances to various states of the final $^{10}$Be or $^{12}$Be nucleus are recognized thanks to the well-resolved $Q$-value spectra. The reconstructed resonances at 16.5(1), 17.3(2), 19.4(1) and 21.6(2) MeV are assigned as the $0^+$, $2^+$, $4^+$ and $6^+$ members, respectively, of the positive-parity $(3/2_\pi^-)^2(1/2_\sigma^-)^2$-bond linear-chain molecular band in $^{16}$C, based on the angular correlation analysis for the 16.5 MeV state and the excellent agreement of decay patterns between the measurements and theoretical predictions. Moreover, another intriguing high-lying state was observed at 27.2(1) MeV which decays almost exclusively to the $\sim$6 MeV states of $^{10}$Be, in line with the newly predicted pure $\sigma$-bond linear-chain configuration., Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures

An inelastic excitation and cluster-decay experiment $\rm {^2H}(^{16}C,~{^{4}He}+{^{12}Be}~or~{^{6}He}+{^{10}Be}){^2H}$ was carried out to investigate the linear-chain clustering structure in neutron-rich $\rm {^{16}C}$. For the first time, decay-paths from the $\rm {^{16}C}$ resonances to various states of the final nuclei were determined, thanks to the well-resolved $Q$-value spectra obtained from the three-fold coincident measurement. The close-threshold resonance at 16.5 MeV is assigned as the ${J^\pi}={0^+}$ band head of the predicted positive-parity linear-chain molecular band with ${(3/2_\pi^-)^2}{(1/2_\sigma^-)^2}$ configuration, according to the associated angular correlation and decay analysis. Other members of this band were found at 17.3, 19.4, and 21.6 MeV based on their selective decay properties, being consistent with the theoretical predictions. Another intriguing high-lying state was observed at 27.2 MeV which decays almost exclusively to $\rm {^{6}He}+{^{10}Be{(\sim6~ MeV)}}$ final channel, corresponding well to another predicted linear-chain structure with the pure $\sigma$-bond configuration., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

In the mixed-valence manganites, a near-infrared laser typically melts the orbital and spin order simultaneously, corresponding to the photoinduced $d^{1}d^{0}$ $\xrightarrow{}$ $d^{0}d^{1}$ excitations in the Mott-Hubbard bands of manganese. Here, we use ultrafast methods -- both femtosecond resonant x-ray diffraction and optical reflectivity -- to demonstrate that the orbital response in the layered manganite Nd$_{1-x}$Sr$_{1+x}$MnO$_{4}$ ($\it{x}$ = 2/3) does not follow this scheme. At the photoexcitation saturation fluence, the orbital order is only diminished by a few percent in the transient state. Instead of the typical $d^{1}d^{0}$ $\xrightarrow{}$ $d^{0}d^{1}$ transition, a near-infrared pump in this compound promotes a fundamentally distinct mechanism of charge transfer, the $d^{0}$ $ \xrightarrow{}$ $d^{1}L$, where $\it{L}$ denotes a hole in the oxygen band. This novel finding may pave a new avenue for selectively manipulating specific types of order in complex materials of this class.

The tetraneutron has been drawing the attention of the nuclear physics community for decades, but a firm conclusion on its existence and properties is still far from being reached despite many experimental and theoretical efforts. New measurements have recently been performed at RIBF with the SAMURAI spectrometer by applying complementary reaction probes, which will help to pin down the properties of this four-neutron system., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, conference proceedings of XXII International Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics (FB22), Caen, France, July 2018

We report on the ultrafast dynamics of charge order and structural response during the photoinduced suppression of charge and orbital order in a mixed-valence manganite. Employing femtosecond time-resolved resonant x-ray diffraction below and at the Mn K absorption edge, we present a method to disentangle the transient charge order and structural dynamics in thin films of Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3. Based on the static resonant scattering spectra, we extract the dispersion correction of charge ordered Mn3+ and Mn4+ ions, allowing us to separate the transient contributions of purely charge order from structural contributions to the scattering amplitude after optical excitation. Our finding of a coherent structural mode at around 2.3 THz, which primarily modulates the lattice, but does not strongly affect the charge order, confirms the picture of the charge order being the driving force of the combined charge, orbital and structural transition.

Optical solitons-stable waves balancing delicately between nonlinearities and dispersive effects-have advanced the field of ultrafast optics and dynamics, with contributions spanning supercontinuum generation and soliton fission, to optical event horizon, Hawking radiation, and optical rogue waves, amongst others. Here we investigate picojoule soliton dynamics in silicon slow-light photonic-bandgap waveguides under the influence of Drude-modeled free-carrier induced nonlinear effects. Using real-time and single shot amplified dispersive Fourier transform spectroscopy simultaneously with high-fidelity cross-correlation frequency-resolved optical gating at femtojoule sensitivity and femtosecond resolution, we examine the soliton stability limits, the soliton dynamics including free-carrier quartic slow-light scaling and acceleration, and the Drude electron-hole-plasma induced perturbations on Cherenkov radiation and modulation instability. Our real-time single shot and time-averaged cross-correlation measurements are matched with our detailed theoretical modeling, examining the reduced group velocity free-carrier kinetics on solitons at picojoule., Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures

Optical frequency comb (OFC) technology has been the cornerstone for scientific breakthroughs such as precision frequency metrology, redefinition of time, extreme light-matter interaction, and attosecond sciences. While the current mode-locked laser-based OFC has had great success in extending the scientific frontier, its use in real-world applications beyond the laboratory setting remains an unsolved challenge. Microresonator-based OFCs, or Kerr frequency comb, have recently emerged as a candidate solution to the challenge because of their preferable size, weight, and power consumption (SWaP). On the other hand, the current phase stabilization technology requires either external optical references or power-demanding nonlinear processes, overturning the SWaP benefit of Kerr frequency combs. Introducing a new concept in phase control, here we report an internally phase stabilized Kerr frequency comb without the need of any optical references or nonlinear processes. We describe the comb generation analytically with the theory of cavity induced modulation instability, and demonstrate for the first time that the optical frequency can be stabilized by control of two internally accessible parameters: an intrinsic comb offset and the comb spacing. Both parameters are phase locked to microwave references, with 55 mrad and 20 mrad residual phase noises, and the resulting comb-to-comb frequency uncertainty is 0.08 Hz or less. Out-of-loop measurements confirm good coherence and stability across the comb, with measured optical frequency fractional instabilities of 5x10^-11/sqrt(t). The new phase stabilization method preserves the Kerr frequency comb's key advantages and potential for chip-scale electronic and photonic integration.

High-Q microresonator has been suggested a promising platform for optical frequency comb generation, via dissipative soliton formation. To achieve a higher Q and obtain the necessary anomalous dispersion, $Si_3N_4$ microresonators made of multi-mode waveguides were previously implemented. However, coupling between different transverse mode families in the multi-mode waveguides results in periodic disruption of dispersion and quality factor, introducing perturbation to dissipative soliton formation and amplitude modulation to the corresponding spectrum. Careful choice of pump wavelength to avoid the mode crossing region is thus critical in conventional $Si_3N_4$ microresonators. Here, we report a novel design of $Si_3N_4$ microresonator such that single mode operation, high quality factor, and anomalous dispersion are attained simultaneously. The microresonator is consisted of uniform single mode waveguides in the semi-circle region, to eliminate bending induced mode coupling, and adiabatically tapered waveguides in the straight region, to avoid excitation of higher order modes. The intrinsic Q of the microresonator reaches $1.36 \times 10^6$ while the GVD remains to be anomalous at $-50 fs^2/mm$. We demonstrate, with this novel microresonator, broadband phase-locked Kerr frequency combs with flat and smooth spectra can be generated by pumping at any resonances in the optical C-band., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures

Optical frequency combs, coherent light sources that connect optical frequencies with microwave oscillations, have become the enabling tool for precision spectroscopy, optical clockwork and attosecond physics over the past decades. Current benchmark systems are self-referenced femtosecond mode-locked lasers, but four-wave-mixing in high-Q resonators have emerged as alternative platforms. Here we report the generation and full stabilization of CMOS-compatible optical frequency combs. The spiral microcomb's two degrees-of-freedom, one of the comb line and the native 18 GHz comb spacing, are first simultaneously phase-locked to known optical and microwave references. Second, with pump power control, active comb spacing stabilization improves the long-term stability by six orders-of-magnitude, reaching an instrument-limited 3.6 mHz/sqrt(t) residual instability. Third, referencing thirty-three of the nitride frequency comb lines against a fiber comb, we demonstrate the comb tooth-to-tooth frequency relative inaccuracy down to 53 mHz and 2.8x10-16, heralding unprecedented chip-scale applications in precision spectroscopy, coherent communications, and astronomical spectrography.

We performed ultrafast time-resolved near-infrared pump, resonant soft X-ray diffraction probe measurements to investigate the coupling between the photoexcited electronic system and the spin cycloid magnetic order in multiferroic TbMnO3 at low temperatures. We observe melting of the long range antiferromagnetic order at low excitation fluences with a decay time constant of 22.3 +- 1.1 ps, which is much slower than the ~1 ps melting times previously observed in other systems. To explain the data we propose a simple model of the melting process where the pump laser pulse directly excites the electronic system, which then leads to an increase in the effective temperature of the spin system via a slower relaxation mechanism. Despite this apparent increase in the effective spin temperature, we do not observe changes in the wavevector q of the antiferromagnetic spin order that would typically correlate with an increase in temperature under equilibrium conditions. We suggest that this behavior results from the extremely low magnon group velocity that hinders a change in the spin-spiral wavevector on these time scales., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures

Studies to date on ferromagnet/d-wave superconductor heterostructures focus mainly on the effects at or near the interfaces while the response of bulk properties to heterostructuring is overlooked. Here we use resonant soft x-ray scattering spectroscopy to reveal a novel c-axis ferromagnetic coupling between the in-plane Cu spins in YBa$_2$ Cu$_3$ O$_{7-x}$ (YBCO) superconductor when it is grown on top of ferromagnetic La$_{0.7}$ Ca$_{0.3}$ MnO$_3$ (LCMO) manganite layer. This coupling, present in both normal and superconducting states of YBCO, is sensitive to the interfacial termination such that it is only observed in bilayers with MnO_2but not with La$_{0.7}$ Ca$_{0.3}$ interfacial termination. Such contrasting behaviors, we propose, are due to distinct energetic of CuO chain and CuO$_2$ plane at the La$_{0.7}$ Ca$_{0.3}$ and MnO$_2$ terminated interfaces respectively, therefore influencing the transfer of spin-polarized electrons from manganite to cuprate differently. Our findings suggest that the superconducting/ferromagnetic bilayers with proper interfacial engineering can be good candidates for searching the theorized Fulde-Ferrel-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state in cuprates and studying the competing quantum orders in highly correlated electron systems., Comment: Please note the change of the title. Text might be slightly different from the published version

Laser frequency combs are coherent light sources that simultaneously provide pristine frequency spacings for precision metrology and the fundamental basis for ultrafast and attosecond sciences. Recently, nonlinear parametric conversion in high-Q microresonators has been suggested as an alternative platform for optical frequency combs, though almost all in 100 GHz frequencies or more. Here we report a low-phase-noise on-chip Kerr frequency comb with mode spacing compatible with high-speed silicon optoelectronics. The waveguide cross-section of the silicon nitride spiral resonator is designed to possess small and flattened group velocity dispersion, so that the Kerr frequency comb contains a record-high number of 3,600 phase-locked comb lines. We study the single-sideband phase noise as well as the long-term frequency stability and report the lowest phase noise floor achieved to date with -130 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset for the 18 GHz Kerr comb oscillator, along with feedback stabilization to achieve frequency Allan deviations of 7x10-11 in 1 s. The reported system is a promising compact platform for achieving self-referenced Kerr frequency combs and also for high-capacity coherent communication architectures., Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures

High-quality frequency references are the cornerstones in position, navigation and timing applications of both scientific and commercial domains. Optomechanical oscillators, with direct coupling to continuous-wave light and non-material-limited f Q product, are long regarded as a potential platform for frequency reference in radio-frequency-photonic architectures. However, one major challenge is the compatibility with standard CMOS fabrication processes while maintaining optomechanical high quality performance. Here we demonstrate the monolithic integration of photonic crystal optomechanical oscillators and on-chip high speed Ge detectors based on the silicon CMOS platform. With the generation of both high harmonics (up to 59th order) and subharmonics (down to 1/4), our chipset provides multiple frequency tones for applications in both frequency multipliers and dividers. The phase noise is measured down to -125 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz offset at ~ 400 {\mu}W dropped-in powers, one of the lowest noise optomechanical oscillators to date and in room-temperature and atmospheric non-vacuum operating conditions. These characteristics enable optomechanical oscillators as a frequency reference platform for radio-frequency-photonic information processing., Comment: 32 pages, 13 figures

We describe the generation of stable mode-locked pulse trains from on-chip normal dispersion microresonators. The excitation of hyper-parametric oscillation is facilitated by the local dispersion disruptions induced by mode interactions. The system is then driven from hyper-parametric oscillation to the mode-locked state with over 200 nm spectral width by controlled pump power and detuning. With the continuous-wave driven nonlinearity, the pulses sit on a pedestal, akin to a cavity soliton. We identify the importance of pump detuning and wavelength-dependent quality factors in stabilizing and shaping the pulse structure, to achieve a single pulse inside the cavity. We examine the mode locking dynamics by numerically solving the master equation and provide analytic solutions under appropriate approximations., Comment: 36 pages, 20 figures

Strain is a leading candidate for controlling magnetoelectric coupling in multiferroics. Here, we use x-ray diffraction to study the coupling between magnetic order and structural distortion in epitaxial films of the orthorhombic (o-) perovskite LuMnO$_3$. An antiferromagnetic spin canting in the E-type magnetic structure is shown to be related to the ferroelectrically induced structural distortion and to a change in the magnetic propagation vector. By comparing films of different orientations and thicknesses, these quantities are found to be controlled by b-axis strain. It is shown that compressive strain destabilizes the commensurate E-type structure and reduces its accompanying ferroelectric distortion., Comment: 14 Pages, 4 figures

High-temperature superconductivity (HTSC) mysteriously emerges upon doping holes or electrons into insulating copper oxides with antiferromagnetic (AFM) order. It has been thought that the large energy scale of magnetic excitations, compared to phonon energies for example, lies at the heart of an electronically-driven superconducting phase at high temperatures. However, despite extensive studies, little information is available for comparison of high-energy magnetic excitations of hole- and electron-doped superconductors to assess a possible correlation with the respective superconducting transition temperatures. Here, we use resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the Cu L3-edge to reveal high-energy collective excitations in the archetype electron-doped cuprate Nd2-xCexCuO4 (NCCO). Surprisingly, despite the fact that the spin stiffness is zero and the AFM correlations are short-ranged, magnetic excitations harden significantly across the AFM-HTSC phase boundary, in stark contrast with the hole-doped cuprates. Furthermore, we find an unexpected and highly dispersive mode in superconducting NCCO that is undetected in the hole-doped compounds, which emanates from the zone center with a characteristic energy comparable to the pseudogap, and may signal a quantum phase distinct from superconductivity. The uncovered asymmetry in the high-energy collective excitations with respect to hole and electron doping provides additional constraints for modeling the HTSC cuprates., Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures, Submitted to Nature Physics

We have used soft x-ray magnetic diffraction at the Fe3+ L2,3 edges to examine to what extent the Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction in Ba3NbFe3Si2O14 influences its low temperature magnetic structure. A modulated component of the moments along the c-axis is present, adding to the previously proposed helical magnetic configuration of co-planar moments in the a,b-plane. This leads to a helical-butterfly structure and suggests that both the multi-axial in-plane and the uniform out-of-plane Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya vectors are relevant. A non zero orbital magnetic signal is also observed at the oxygen K edge, which reflects the surprisingly strong hybridization between iron 3d and oxygen 2p states, given the nominal spherical symmetry of the Fe3+ half filled shell.

We apply grazing-incidence femtosecond x-ray diffraction to investigate the details of the atomic motion connected with a displacively excited coherent optical phonon. We concentrate on the low frequency phonon associated with the charge and orbital order in the mixed valence manganite La0.25Pr0.375Ca0.375MnO3 for T < 210 K. We measure the response of three superlattice reflections that feature different sensitivities to the motion of the unit cell constituents. The results support the assignment to a translational mode of the Mn4+ atoms together with the oxygen atoms connecting adjacent Mn4+ sites., Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures

The effect of x-rays on an orbital and charge ordered epitaxial film of a Pr$_{0.5}$Ca$_{0.5}$MnO$_{3}$ is presented. As the film is exposed to x-rays, the antiferromagnetic response increases and concomitantly the conductivity of the film improve. These results are discussed in terms of a persistent x-ray induced doping, leading to a modification of the magnetic structure. This effect allows writing electronic and magnetic domains in the film and represents a novel way of manipulating magnetism., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

Static charge-density wave (CDW) and spin-density wave (SDW) order has been convincingly observed in La-based cuprates for some time. However, more recently it has been suggested by quantum oscillation, transport and thermodynamic measurements that density wave order is generic to underdoped cuprates and plays a significant role in YBa_2Cu_3O_{6+delta} (YBCO). We use resonant soft x-ray scattering at the Cu L and O K edges to search for evidence of density wave order in Ortho-II and Ortho-VIII oxygen-ordered YBCO. We report a null result -- no evidence for static CDW order -- in both Ortho-II and Ortho-VIII ordered YBCO. While this does not rule out static CDW order in the CuO_2 planes of YBCO, these measurements place limits on the parameter space (temperature, magnetic field, scattering vector) in which static CDW order may exist. In addition, we present a detailed analysis of the energy and polarization dependence of the Ortho-II superstructure Bragg reflection [0.5 0 0] at the Cu L edge. The intensity of this peak, which is due to the valence modulations of Cu in the chain layer, is compared with calculations using atomic scattering form factors deduced from x-ray absorption measurements. The calculated energy and polarization dependence of the scattering intensity is shown to agree very well with the measurement, validating the approach and providing a framework for analyzing future resonant soft x-ray scattering measurements., Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures

We investigated the electronic structure of the SrTiO$_3$/LaAlO$_3$ superlattice (SL) by resonant soft x-ray scattering. The (003) peak, which is forbidden for our "ideal" SL structure, was observed at all photon energies, indicating reconstruction at the interface. From the peak position analyses taking into account the effects of refraction, we obtained evidence for electronic reconstruction of Ti 3d and O $2p$ states at the interface. From reflectivity analyses, we concluded that the AlO$_2$/LaO/TiO$_2$/SrO and the TiO$_2$/SrO/AlO$_2$/LaO interfaces are quite different, leading to highly asymmetric properties., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

To shed light on the symmetry of the superconducting order parameter in Na_xCoO_2-yH_2O, the Mn doping effects are studied. X-ray absorption spectroscopy verifies that the doped Mn impurities occupy the Co sites and are with a valance close to +4. Impurity scattering by Mn is in the unitary limit that, however, does not lead to strong Tc suppression. This absence of the strong impurity effects on T_c is not consistent with the simple picture of a sign-changing order parameter. Coexistence of the s-wave and unconventional order parameters is proposed to reconcile all existing experiments and has been directly observed by the specific heat experiments., Comment: 5 pages; 5 figures; evidence of two phases in Na_xCoO_2-yH2O from the specific heat experiments

We investigate the influence of the real part of the in-medium pion optical potential on the pion dynamics in intermediate energy heavy ion reactions at 1 GeV/A. For different models, i.e. a phenomenological model and the $\Delta$--hole model, a pionic potential is extracted from the dispersion relation and used in Quantum Molecular Dynamics calculations. In addition with the inelastic scattering processes we thus take care of both, real and imaginary part of the pion optical potential. A strong influence of the real pionic potential on the pion in-plane flow is observed. In general such a potential has the tendency to reduce the anticorrelation of pion and nucleon flow in non-central collisions., Comment: 12 pages Latex, 4 PS-figures

Parametrizations of total cross sections sufficient for all channels of the $\pi B \rightarrow Y K$ reactions are completed using a resonance model. As well as discussing the $\pi N \rightarrow \Lambda K$ reactions, which were not presented in our previous publications, we present the differential cross section for $\pi N \rightarrow \Lambda K$. This report also aims at presenting supplementary discussions to our previous work., Comment: Talk given at Joint Japan-Australia Workshop on Quarks, Hadrons and Nuclei, Adelaide, South Australia, November 15-24, 1995. (To appear in the conference proceedings) 7 pages, 4 figures available by mail. One number presented wrongly in the text is corrected

We study the effect of the density dependence of the scalar and the vector part of the nucleonic self-energy in Relativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics (RQMD) on observables like the transversal flow and the rapidity distribution. The stability of nuclei in RQMD is greatly improved if the density dependence is included in the self-energies compared to a calculation assuming always saturation density of nuclear matter. Different approaches are studied: The main results are calculated with self-energies extracted from a Dirac-Br\"uckner-Hartree-Fock G-matrix of a one boson exchange model, i.e. the Bonn potential. These results are compared with those obtained by a generalization of static Skyrme force, with calculations in the simple linear Walecka model and results of the Br\"uckner-Hartree-Fock G-matrix of the Reid soft core potential. The transversal flow is very sensitive to these different approaches. A comparison with the data is given., Comment: LaTex-file, 13 pages, 5 figures (available upon request), submitted to Nuclear Physics A

The covariant and non-covariant Quantum Molecular Dynamics models are applied to investigate possible relativistic effects in heavy ion collisions at SIS energies. These relativistic effects which arise due to the full covariant treatment of the dynamics are studied at bombarding energies E$_{lab.}$ = 50, 250, 500, 750, 1000, 1250, 1500, 1750 and 2000 MeV/nucl.. A wide range of the impact parameter from b = 0 fm to b = 10 fm is also considered. In the present study, five systems $^{12}$C-$^{12}$C, $^{16}$O-$^{16}$O, $^{20}$Ne-$^{20}$Ne, $^{28}$Si-$^{28}$Si and $^{40}$Ca-$^{40}$Ca are investigated. The full covariant treatment at low energies shows quite good agreement with the corresponding non-covariant approach whereas at higher energies it shows less stopping and hence less thermal equilibrium as compared to the non-covariant approach. The collisions dynamics is less affected. The density using RQMD rises and drops faster than with QMD. The relativistic effects show some influence on the resonance matter production. Overall, the relativistic effects at SIS energies ($\leq$ 2000 MeV/nucl.) are less significant., Comment: LatTex-file, 22 pages, 15 figures (available upon request), Z.Phys.A (in press)

Heavy ion collisions at intermediate energies are studied by using a new RQMD code, which is a covariant generalization of the QMD approach. We show that this new implementation is able to produce the same results in the nonrelativistic limit (i.e. 50MeV/nucl.) as the non-covariant QMD. Such a comparison is not available in the literature. At higher energies (i.e. 1.5 GeV/nucl. and 2 GeV/nucl.) RQMD and QMD give different results in respect to the time evolution of the phase space, for example for the directed transverse flow. These differences show that consequences of a covariant description of heavy ion reactions within the framework of RQMD are existing even at intermediate energies., Comment: LaTex-file, 28 pages, 8 figures (available upon request), accepted for publication in Physical Review C

Non-equilibrium effects are studied using a full Lorentz-invariant formalism. Our analysis shows that in reactions considered here, no global or local equilibrium is reached. The heavier masses are found to be equilibrated more than the lighter systems. The local temperature is extracted using hot Thomas Fermi formalism generalized for the case of two interpenetrating pieces of nuclear matter. The temperature is found to vary linearly with bombarding energy and impact parameter whereas it is nearly independent of the mass of the colliding nuclei. This indicates that the study of temperature with medium size nuclei is also reliable. The maximum temperatures obtained in our approach are in a nice agreement with earlier calculations of other approaches. A simple parametrization of maximal temperature as a function of the bombarding energy is also given., Comment: LaTex-file, 17 pages, 8 figures (available upon request), Journal of Physics G20 (1994) 1817

We analyze relativistic effects in transverse momentum using Quantum Molecular Dynamics [QMD] and its covariant extension Relativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics [RQMD]. The strength of the relativistic effects is found to increase with the bombarding energy and with an averaged impact parameter. The variation in the intensity of the relativistic effects with variation in the mass of the colliding nuclei is not systematic. Furthermore, the hard EOS is affected drastically by the relativistic effects whereas the soft EOS is affected less. Our analysis shows that up to the bombarding energy of 1 GeV/nucl., the influence of relativistic effects is small. Whereas at higher energies, relativistic effects become naturally very important., Comment: LaTex-file, 9 pages, 3 figures (available upon request), accepted for publication in Journal of Physics G

In a resonance model the reactions pi N -> Y K and pi Delta -> Y K are studied. For the reactions pi N -> Lambda K and pi Delta -> Lambda K, the resonances N(1650)(J^P=1/2^-), N(1710)(1/2^+) and N(1720)(3/2^+) are included as intermediate states. For the reactions pi N -> Sigma K, the resonances N(1710)(1/2^+), N(1720)(3/2^+) and Delta(1920)(3/2^+) are considered, while for the pi Delta -> Sigma K reactions the intermediate resonances are N(1710)(1/2^+) and N(1720)(3/2^+). Besides these resonances in the s-channel, the t-channel K^*(892) exchanges are also taken into account as a smooth background. The relevant coupling constants for the meson-baryon vertices are obtained (except for Delta(1920)) from the experimental decay branching ratios of the relevant resonances. All isospin channels of the pi N -> Y K and pi Delta -> Y K cross sections are calculated. By comparing the calculated results with the available experimental data, we find that the total cross sections of the pi N -> Y K reactions can be explained by the resonance model. The pi Delta -> Y K cross sections, for which no experimental data are available, are predicted theoretically. Parametrizations of the calculated total cross sections for all different isospin channels are given for the use of kaon productions in heavy ion collisions. The differential cross sections are also studied., Comment: 34 pages, Latex file, 11 figures are available upon request

The long mean free path of $K^+$ mesons in nuclear matter makes this particle a suitable messenger for the dynamics of nucleus-nucleus reactions at intermediate energies (100 MeV to 3 GeV per nucleon). A prerequisite for this is the knowledge of the elementary production cross sections $\pi N \rightarrow \Sigma K$. Here these cross sections are studied for the first time with the explicite inclusion of the relevant baryon resonances up to 2 GeV as intermediate states. The baryon resonances -- $N(1710)\, I(J^P) = \frac{1}{2} (\frac{1}{2}^+),\, N(1720)\, \frac{1}{2} (\frac{3}{2}^+)$ and $\Delta(1920)\, \frac{3}{2} (\frac{3}{2}^+)\,$ -- are taken into account coherently in the calculations of the $\pi N \rightarrow \Sigma K$ process. (We refer to this model as the `resonance model'.) Also $K^*(892)\frac{1}{2} (1^-)$ vector meson exchange is included. It is shown that the total cross sections for different channels of the $\pi N \rightarrow \Sigma k$ reactions, i.e. $\pi^+ p \rightarrow \Sigma^+ K^+$, $\pi^- p \rightarrow \Sigma^- K^+$, $\pi^+ n \rightarrow \Sigma^0 K^+$ ($\pi^- p \rightarrow \Sigma^- K^+$) and $\pi^0 p \rightarrow \Sigma^0 K^+$ differ not only by absolute values but also by their energy dependence. This shape differences are due to the mixture of the isospin $I = 3/2$ $\Delta(1920)$ with isospin $I = 1/2$ nucleon resonances. However, this $I = 3/2$ resonance does not give a contribution to the $\pi N \rightarrow \Lambda K$ reactions. So the shapes of the total cross sections $\pi N \rightarrow \Lambda K$ for different isospin projections are the same. In spite of this, such cross sections averaged over different isospin projections in the same multiplet, Comment: ( Replaced with corrections of printing errors in the Table. ) 18 pages, Latex file with 6 figures, 2 figures are included in the text. A compressed uuencode file for 4 figures is appended. Also available upon request

The elementary production cross sections $\pi \Delta \rightarrow Y K$ $(Y=\Sigma,\,\, \Lambda)$ and $\pi N \rightarrow Y K$ are needed to describe kaon production in heavy ion collisions. The $\pi N \rightarrow Y K$ reactions were studied previously by a resonance model. The model can explain the experimental data quite well \cite{tsu}. In this article, the total cross sections $\pi \Delta \rightarrow Y K$ at intermediate energies (from the kaon production threshold to3 GeV of $\pi \Delta$ center-of-mass energy) are calculated for the first time using the same resonance model. The resonances, $N(1710)\,I(J^P) = \frac{1}{2}(\frac{1}{2}^+)$ and $N(1720)\, \frac{1}{2} (\frac{3}{2}^+)$ for the $\pi \Delta \rightarrow \Sigma K$ reactions, and $N(1650)\, \frac{1}{2} (\frac{1}{2}^-)$, $N(1710)\, \frac{1}{2} (\frac{1}{2}^+)$ and $N(1720)\, \frac{1}{2} (\frac{3}{2}^+)$ for the $\pi \Delta \rightarrow \Lambda K$ reactions are taken into account coherently as the intermediate states in the calculations. Also t-channel $K^*(892) \frac{1}{2}(1^-)$ vector meson exchange is included. The results show that $K^*(892)$ exchange is neglegible for the $\pi \Delta \rightarrow \Sigma K$ reactions, whereas this meson does not contribute to the $\pi \Delta \rightarrow \Lambda K$ reactions. Furthemore, the $\pi \Delta \rightarrow Y K$ contributions to kaon production in heavy ion collisions are not only non-neglegible but also very different from the $\pi N \rightarrow Y K$ reactions. An argument valid for $\pi N \rightarrow Y K$ cannot be extended to $\pi \Delta \rightarrow Y K$ reactions. Therefore, cross sections for $\pi \Delta \rightarrow Y K$ including correctly the different isospins must be, Comment: ( Replaced with corrections of printing errors in the Table. ) 15 pages, Latex file with 4 figures, 1 figure is included in the text. A compressed uuencode file for 3 figures is appended. (A figure file format was changed.) Also available upon request