Hadron production in relativistic nuclear collisions: thermal hadron source or hadronizing quark-gluon plasma?

Measured hadron yields from relativistic nuclear collisions can be equally well understood in two physically distinct models, namely a static thermal hadronic source vs.~a time-dependent, nonequilibrium hadronization off a quark-gluon plasma droplet. Due to the time-dependent particle evaporation off the hadronic surface in the latter approach the hadron ratios change (by factors of $<\approx 5$) in time. Final particle yields reflect time averages over the actual thermodynamic properties of the system at a certain stage of the evolution. Calculated hadron, strangelet and (anti-)cluster yields as well as freeze-out times are presented for different systems. Due to strangeness distillation the system moves rapidly out of the T, $\mu_q$ plane into the $\mu_s$-sector. Strangeness to baryon ratios f_s=1-2 prevail during a considerable fraction (50%) of the time evolution (i.e. $\Lambda$-droplets or even $\Xi^-$-droplets form the system at the late stage: The possibility of observing this time evolution via HBT correlations is discussed). The observed hadron ratios require $T_c\approx 160 MeV$ and $B^{1/4}>\approx 200 MeV$. If the present model is fit to the extrapolated hadron yields, metastable hypermatter can only be produced with a probability $p< 10^{-8}$ for $A \ge 4$.Comment: Submitted to Z. Phys.

Parity Doublet Model applied to Neutron Stars

The Parity doublet model containing the SU(2) multiplets including the baryons identified as the chiral partners of the nucleons is applied for neutron star matter. The chiral restoration is analyzed and the maximum mass of the star is calculated.Comment: Proceeding to the conference International Symposium on Exotic States of Nuclear Matte

In-medium properties of D-mesons at FAIR

We obtain the D-meson spectral density at finite temperature for the conditions of density and temperature expected at FAIR. We perform a self-consistent coupled-channel calculation taking, as a bare interaction, a separable potential model. The $\Lambda_c$ (2593) resonance is generated dynamically. We observe that the D-meson spectral density develops a sizeable width while the quasiparticle peak stays close to the free position. The consequences for the D-meson production at FAIR are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the proceedings of 9th International Conference on Hypernuclear and Strange Particle Physics (HYP2006), Mainz (Germany), 10-14 October 200

New Physics at the International Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) Next to GSI

The project of the international Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR), co-located to the GSI facility in Darmstadt, has been officially started on November 7, 2007. The current plans of the facility and the planned research program will be described. An investment of about 1 billion euro will permit new physics programs in the areas of low and medium energy antiproton research, heavy ion physics complementary to LHC, as well as in nuclear structure and astrophysics. The facility will comprise about a dozen accelerators and storage rings, which will enable simultaneous operations of up to four different beams.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure. Invited Talk presented at the "Fourth International Conference on Fission and Properties of Neutron-Rich nuclei", held at Sanibel Island, Florida, November 11-17, 200

Impact of baryon resonances on the chiral phase transition at finite temperature and density

We study the phase diagram of a generalized chiral SU(3)-flavor model in mean-field approximation. In particular, the influence of the baryon resonances, and their couplings to the scalar and vector fields, on the characteristics of the chiral phase transition as a function of temperature and baryon-chemical potential is investigated. Present and future finite-density lattice calculations might constrain the couplings of the fields to the baryons. The results are compared to recent lattice QCD calculations and it is shown that it is non-trivial to obtain, simultaneously, stable cold nuclear matter.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure

Re-visit the N/Z ratio of free nucleons from collisions of neutron -rich nuclei as a probe of EoS of asymmetric nuclear matter

The N/Z ratio of free nucleons from collisions of neutron-rich nuclei as a function of their momentum is studied by means of Isospin dependent Quantum Molecular Dynamics. We find that this ratio is not only sensitive to the form of the density dependence of the symmetry potential energy but also its strength determined by the symmetry energy coefficient. The uncertainties about the symmetry energy coefficient influence the accuracy of probing the density dependence of the symmetry energy by means of the N/Z ratio of free nucleons of neutron-rich nuclei.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables. accepted by Commun. Theor. Phys. (Beijing, China

Collective flow of open and hidden charm in Au+Au collisions at s\sqrt{s} = 200 GeV

We study the collective flow of open charm mesons and charmonia in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 GeV within the hadron-string-dynamics (HSD) transport approach. The detailed studies show that the coupling of $D,\bar{D}$ mesons to the light hadrons leads to comparable directed and elliptic flow as for the light mesons. This also holds approximately for $J/\Psi$ mesons since more than 50% of the final charmonia for central and mid-central collisions stem from $D+\bar{D}$ induced reactions in the transport calculations. The transverse momentum spectra of $D,\bar{D}$ mesons and $J/\Psi$'s are only very moderately changed by the (pre-)hadronic interactions in HSD which can be traced back to the collective flow generated by elastic interactions with the light hadrons.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, Phys. Rev. C, in pres