56 research outputs found
Chiral phase transition in the presence of spinodal decomposition
The thermodynamics of a first order chiral phase transition is considered in
the presence of spinodal phase separation within the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL)
model. The properties of the basic thermodynamic observables in the coexistence
phase are discussed for zero and non-zero quark masses. We focus on observables
that probe the chiral phase transition. In particular, the behavior of the
specific heat and entropy as well as charge fluctuations are calculated and
analyzed. We show that the specific heat and charge susceptibilities diverge at
the isothermal spinodal lines. We determine the scaling behavior and compute
the critical exponent of the net quark number susceptibility at the
isothermal spinodal lines within the NJL model and the Ginsburg-Landau theory.
We show that in the chiral limit the critical exponent at the
tricritical point as well as along the isothermal spinodal lines. On the other
hand, for finite quark masses the critical exponent at the spinodal lines,
, differs from that at the critical end point, ,
indicating a change in the universality class. These results are independent of
the particular choice of the chiral Lagrangian and should be common for all
mean field approaches.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figure
Nonlinear evolution of the momentum dependent condensates in strong interaction: the ``pseudoscalar laser''
We discuss the relaxation of the scalar and pseudoscalar condensates after a
rapid quench from an initial state with fluctuations. If we include not only
the zero-mode but also higher modes of the condensates in the classical
evolution, we observe parametric amplification of those ``hard'' modes. Thus,
they couple nonlinearly to the ``soft'' modes. As a consequence, domains of
coherent pi-field emerge long after the initial spinodal decomposition. The
momentum-space distribution of pions emerging from the decay of that
momentum-dependent condensate is discussed.Comment: 6 Pages, REVTEX, 8 Figures; one reference and one figure adde
Field dynamics and kink-antikink production in rapidly expanding systems
Field dynamics in a rapidly expanding system is investigated by transforming
from space-time to the rapidity - proper-time frame. The proper-time dependence
of different contributions to the total energy is established. For systems
characterized by a finite momentum cut-off, a freeze-out time can be defined
after which the field propagation in rapidity space ends and the system decays
into decoupled solitons, antisolitons and local vacuum fluctuations. Numerical
simulations of field evolutions on a lattice for the (1+1)-dimensional
model illustrate the general results and show that the freeze-out time and
average multiplicities of kinks (plus antikinks) produced in this 'phase
transition' can be obtained from simple averages over the initial ensemble of
field configurations. An extension to explicitly include additional dissipation
is discussed. The validity of an adiabatic approximation for the case of an
overdamped system is investigated. The (3+1)-dimensional generalization may
serve as model for baryon-antibaryon production after heavy-ion collisions.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures. Two references added. New subsection III.E
added. Final version accepted for publication in PR
From QFT to DCC
A quantum field theoretical model for the dynamics of the disoriented chiral
condensate is presented. A unified approach to relate the quantum field theory
directly to the formation, decay and signals of the DCC and its evolution is
taken. We use a background field analysis of the O(4) sigma model keeping
one-loop quantum corrections (quadratic order in the fluctuations). An
evolution of the quantum fluctuations in an external, expanding metric which
simulates the expansion of the plasma, is carried out. We examine, in detail,
the amplification of the low momentum pion modes with two competing effects,
the expansion rate of the plasma and the transition rate of the vacuum
configuration from a metastable state into a stable state.We show the effect of
DCC formation on the multiplicity distributions and the Bose-Einstein
correlations.Comment: 34 pages, 10 figure
The K/pi ratio from condensed Polyakov loops
We perform a field-theoretical computation of hadron production in large
systems at the QCD confinement phase transition associated with restoration of
the Z(3) global symmetry. This occurs from the decay of a condensate for the
Polyakov loop. From the effective potential for the Polyakov loop, its mass
just below the confinement temperature T_c is in between the vacuum masses of
the pion and that of the kaon. Therefore, due to phase-space restrictions the
number of produced kaons is roughly an order of magnitude smaller than that of
produced pions, in agreement with recent results from collisions of gold ions
at the BNL-RHIC. From its mass, we estimate that the Polyakov loop condensate
is characterized by a (spatial) correlation scale of 1/m_\ell ~ 1/2 fm. For
systems of deconfined matter of about that size, the free energy may not be
dominated by a condensate for the Polyakov loop, and so the process of
hadronization may be qualitatively different as compared to large systems. In
that vein, experimental data on hadron abundance ratios, for example K/pi, in
high-multiplicity pp events at high energies should be very interesting.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures; discussion of the two-point function of Polyakov
Loops in small versus large systems adde
Space-time evolution and HBT analysis of relativistic heavy ion collisions in a chiral SU(3) x SU(3) model
The space-time dynamics and pion-HBT radii in central heavy ion-collisions at
CERN-SPS and BNL-RHIC are investigated within a hydrodynamic simulation. The
dependence of the dynamics and the HBT-parameters on the EoS is studied with
different parametrisations of a chiral SU(3) sigma-omega model. The
selfconsistent collective expansion includes the effects of effective hadron
masses, generated by the nonstrange and strange scalar condensates. Different
chiral EoS show different types of phase transitions and even a crossover. The
influence of the order of the phase transition and of the difference in the
latent heat on the space-time dynamics and pion-HBT radii is studied. A small
latent heat, i.e. a weak first-order chiral phase transition, or even a smooth
crossover leads to distinctly different HBT predictions than a strong first
order phase transition. A quantitative description of the data, both at SPS
energies as well as at RHIC energies, appears difficult to achieve within the
ideal hydrodynamical approach using the SU(3) chiral EoS. A strong first-order
quasi-adiabatic chiral phase transition seems to be disfavored by the pion-HBT
data from CERN-SPS and BNL-RHIC
Scalar density fluctuation at critical end point in NJL model
Soft mode near the critical end point in the phase diagram of two-flavor
Nambu--Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model is investigated within the leading 1/N_c
approximation with N_c being the number of the colors. It is explicitly shown
by studying the spectral function of the scalar channel that the relevant soft
mode is the scalar density fluctuation, which is coupled with the quark number
density, while the sigma meson mode stays massive.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Chiral Fluid Dynamics and Collapse of Vacuum Bubbles
We study the expansion dynamics of a quark-antiquark plasma droplet from an
initial state with restored chiral symmetry. The calculations are made within
the linear model scaled with an additional scalar field representing
the gluon condensate. We solve numerically the classical equations of motion
for the meson fields coupled to the fluid-dynamical equations for the plasma.
Strong space-time oscillations of the meson fields are observed in the course
of the chiral transition. A new phenomenon, the formation and collapse of
vacuum bubbles, is also predicted. The particle production due to the
bremsstrahlung of the meson fields is estimated.Comment: 12 pages Revtex,5 figures, Figures modified, minor changes in text.
To be published in Phys. Rev. Let
Spectral functions in the sigma-channel near the critical end point
Spectral functions in the -channel are investigated near the chiral
critical end point (CEP), that is, the point where the chiral phase transition
ceases to be first-ordered in the -plane of the QCD phase diagram. At
that point the meson becomes massless in spite of explicit breaking of
the chiral symmetry. It is expected that experimental signatures peculiar to
CEP can be observed through spectral changes in the presence of abnormally
light mesons. As a candidate, the invariant-mass spectrum for diphoton
emission is estimated with the chiral quark model incorporated. The results
show the characteristic shape with a peak in the low energy region, which may
serve as a signal for CEP. However, we find that the diphoton multiplicity is
highly suppressed by infrared behaviors of the meson. Experimentally,
in such a low energy region below the threshold of two pions, photons from
are major sources of the background for the signal.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, 1 figure replaced, minor modification
Hydrodynamical instabilities in an expanding quark gluon plasma
We study the mechanism responsible for the onset of instabilities in a chiral
phase transition at nonzero temperature and baryon chemical potential. As a
low-energy effective model, we consider an expanding relativistic plasma of
quarks coupled to a chiral field, and obtain a phenomenological chiral
hydrodynamics from a variational principle. Studying the dispersion relation
for small fluctuations around equilibrium, we identify the role played by
chiral waves and pressure waves in the generation of instabilities. We show
that pressure modes become unstable earlier than chiral modes.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
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