QCD Critical Point in a Quasiparticle Model

Recent theoretical investigations have unveiled a rich structure in the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) phase diagram which consists of quark gluon plasma (QGP) and the hadronic phases but also supports the existence of a cross-over transition ending at a critical end point (CEP). We find a too large variation in determination of the coordinates of the CEP in the temperature (T), baryon chemical potential ($\mu_{B}$) plane and, therefore, its identification in the current heavy-ion experiments becomes debatable. Here we use an equation of state (EOS) for a deconfined QGP using a thermodynamically consistent quasiparticle model involving quarks and gluons having thermal masses. We further use a thermodynamically consistent excluded volume model for the hadron gas (HG) which was recently proposed by us. Using these equations of state, a first order deconfining phase transition is constructed using Gibbs' criteria. This leads to an interesting finding that the phase transition line ends at a critical point (CEP) beyond which a cross-over region exists. Using our thermal HG model, we obtain a chemical freeze out curve and we find that the CEP lies in close proximity to this curve as proposed by some authors. The coordinates of CEP are found to lie within the reach of RHIC experiment.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; minor corrections, to be appeared in Phys. Rev.

Accurate evaluation of homogenous and nonhomogeneous gas emissivities

Spectral transmittance and total band adsorptance of selected infrared bands of carbon dioxide and water vapor are calculated by using the line-by-line and quasi-random band models and these are compared with available experimental results to establish the validity of the quasi-random band model. Various wide-band model correlations are employed to calculate the total band absorptance and total emissivity of these two gases under homogeneous and nonhomogeneous conditions. These results are compared with available experimental results under identical conditions. From these comparisons, it is found that the quasi-random band model can provide quite accurate results and is quite suitable for most atmospheric applications