Pion Production Differential Cross-Section of Heavy Ion Collisions at Subthreshold Energies.

A revised model for pion production in heavy-ion peripheral collisions at subthreshold energies is presented. The pion-production mechanism investigated here is a two step process involving the formation and subsequent decay of an isobar resonance in the projectile nucleus. The independent -particle shell model with harmonic oscillator states is used to approximate the internal structure of the nucleus. The pion production cross section shows a definite angular distribution characteristic of coherent production. It also gives an indication of the quantum signature of the emitted pions. The results show the disappearance of the quantum signature from the energy spectra because of the inclusion of higher order multipoles. The theory is compared to recent experimental data. The comparison reveals that the general trend is reproduced, which is encouraging.