In-medium and isospin effects on eta production in heavy-ion collisions near threshold energies

The dynamics of η meson produced in heavy-ion collisions has been investigated within the Lanzhou quantum molecular dynamics model (LQMD). The in-medium corrections have been considered in the model, in which an attractive η-nucleon potential is implemented. The impacts of the η optical potential and the nuclear symmetry energy on the η dynamics are investigated. It is found that the total yields are slightly influenced by the potential and weakly depend on the symmetry energy. However, the structure of the kinetic spectra is related to the optical potential and the stiffness of symmetry energy. The attractive potential leads to the reduction of high-momentum (kinetic energy) η production, i.e., the spectra of momentum and transverse mass distributions, increasing the reabsorption process by surrounding nucleons, and favoring the in-plane eta emissions. The reabsorption process in η-nucleon collisions plays a significant role on the η dynamics. (orig.)