The role of rotational degrees of freedom in heavy-ion collisions

This article attempts to show the importance of the role of angular momentum in deep inelastic heavy-ion collisions. Angular momentum defines the range of this process and its boundaries as well, with complete fusion on one side and direct reactions on the other. The relaxation of angular momentum leads to the secular equilibrium of the system which can rotate like a rigid body. The presence of angular-momentum-bearing degrees of freedom allows for fluctuations that can misalign the aligned component of the fragment angular momentum. The excitation of these modes can be studied through the angular distribution of particles and gamma rays emitted by the fragments