KRATTA, KATANA, KRAB and the Symmetry Energy at High Densities

The only way to study the properties of asymmetric nuclear matter at high densities in the laboratory conditions is to investigate the relativistic heavy ion collisions. A complementary source of information are the astrophysical observations and gravitational waves. The degree of compression and pressures achieved during the heavy ion collision depend on the susceptibility of the nuclear matter to compression, and hence on its Equation of State, EoS. In particular, the measured angular and energy distributions of neutrons and protons, light isobars and of the π⁻ and π⁺ emitted form the interaction zone depend on the Symmetry Energy and its gradients at the attained densities. These are therefore key observables for studying the EoS of the asymmetric nuclear matter. Precision measurements of the azimuthal distributions of neutrons and protons and light isobars with respect to the reaction plane require specialized detectors. The KRATTA, KATANA and KRAB detectors were designed and built at IFJ PAN over the past 15 years as our contribution to four out of five heavy ion experiments conducted to date with the goal to determine constraints on the high-density dependence of the Symmetry Energy. A brief description of the detectors, experimental setups, and their main results will be presented, along with the current state of the Symmetry Energy quest and possible future directions.