Kinetic approach of light-nuclei production in intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions

We develop a kinetic approach to the production of light nuclei up to mass number A 5 4 in intermediate -energy heavy-ion collisions by including them as dynamic degrees of freedom. The conversions between nucleons and light nuclei during the collisions are incorporated dynamically via the breakup of light nuclei by a nucleon and their reverse reactions. We also include the Mott effect on light nuclei; i.e., a light nucleus will no longer be bound if the phase-space density of its surrounding nucleons is too large. With this kinetic approach, we obtain a reasonable description of the measured yields of light nuclei in central Au + Au collisions at energies of 0.25A GeV-1.0A GeV by the FOPI Collaboration. Our study also indicates that the observed enhancement of the alpha-particle yield at low incident energies can be attributed to a weaker Mott effect on the alpha particle, which makes it more difficult to dissolve in nuclear medium, as a result of its much larger binding energy.