A method is proposed for estimating the energy of vanishing flow (also called balance energy, E(bal)) without reconstructing the reaction plane. This method is based on the shapes of experimental particle-particle azimuthal correlation functions. It is used for determining E(bal) for three systems: Ar + Al, Zn + Ti, Zn + Ni. The results are compared with estimations using flow-parameter analysis and with theoretical expectations.
Buta, A. ; El Masri, Youssef ; et. al. Azimuthal Correlation-functions and the Energy of Vanishing Flow in Nucleus-nucleus Collisions. In: Nuclear Physics, Section A, Vol. 584, no. 2, p. 397-412 (1995)