Phase-space excluded-volume approach for light clusters in nuclear medium

A phase-space excluded-volume approach is developed to investigate the in-medium properties of light clusters in nuclear matter. In this approach, light clusters can exist only if the total nucleon phase-space occupation of the surrounding nuclear medium -- including explicit contributions from light clusters -- is sufficiently low. The distribution functions of nucleons and light clusters are determined self-consistently by accounting for the interplay between in-medium effects and thermodynamic properties. By employing standard Skyrme energy-density functionals to model the nuclear mean-field potential, the approach enables the evaluation of the Mott momentum and the fraction of light clusters in nuclear matter. Furthermore, it can be readily integrated into dynamical models, to study in-medium effects on light clusters, based on measured yields in heavy-ion collisions.