Neutron-proton bremsstrahlung as a possible probe of high-momentum component in nucleon momentum distribution

Neutron-proton bremsstrahlung in intermediate energy nucleus-nucleus collisions is proposed as a possible probe to study the high-momentum component in nucleon momentum distribution of finite nucleus. Based on the Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (BUU) transport model, the effects of high-momentum component on the production of bremsstrahlung photons in the reaction of C-12 + C-12 collisions at different incident beam energies are studied. It is found that the high-momentum component increases the high-energy bremsstrahlung photon production remarkably. Furthermore, the ratio of photon production at different incident beam energies is suggested as a potential observable to probe the high-momentum component in nucleon momentum distribution of finite nucleus. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license.