A particle-hole calculation for pion production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

A differential cross section for pi-meson production in peripheral heavy-ion collisions is formulated within the context of a particle-hole model in the Tamm-Dancoff approximation. This is the first attempt at a fully quantum-mechanical particle-hole calculation for pion production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The particular reaction studied is an 16O projectile colliding with a 12C target at rest. In the projectile we form a linear combination of isobar-hole states, with the possibility of a coherent isobar giant resonance. The target can be excited to its giant M1 resonance (J pi = 1+, T = 1) at 15.11 MeV, or to its isobar analog neighbours, 12B at 13.4 MeV and 12N at 17.5 MeV. The theory is compared to recent experimental results.