72 research outputs found
Challenges in QCD matter physics - The Compressed Baryonic Matter experiment at FAIR
Substantial experimental and theoretical efforts worldwide are devoted to
explore the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter. At LHC and top RHIC
energies, QCD matter is studied at very high temperatures and nearly vanishing
net-baryon densities. There is evidence that a Quark-Gluon-Plasma (QGP) was
created at experiments at RHIC and LHC. The transition from the QGP back to the
hadron gas is found to be a smooth cross over. For larger net-baryon densities
and lower temperatures, it is expected that the QCD phase diagram exhibits a
rich structure, such as a first-order phase transition between hadronic and
partonic matter which terminates in a critical point, or exotic phases like
quarkyonic matter. The discovery of these landmarks would be a breakthrough in
our understanding of the strong interaction and is therefore in the focus of
various high-energy heavy-ion research programs. The Compressed Baryonic Matter
(CBM) experiment at FAIR will play a unique role in the exploration of the QCD
phase diagram in the region of high net-baryon densities, because it is
designed to run at unprecedented interaction rates. High-rate operation is the
key prerequisite for high-precision measurements of multi-differential
observables and of rare diagnostic probes which are sensitive to the dense
phase of the nuclear fireball. The goal of the CBM experiment at SIS100
(sqrt(s_NN) = 2.7 - 4.9 GeV) is to discover fundamental properties of QCD
matter: the phase structure at large baryon-chemical potentials (mu_B > 500
MeV), effects of chiral symmetry, and the equation-of-state at high density as
it is expected to occur in the core of neutron stars. In this article, we
review the motivation for and the physics programme of CBM, including
activities before the start of data taking in 2022, in the context of the
worldwide efforts to explore high-density QCD matter.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Published in European Physical Journal
Measurement of the very rare decay
The decay K+→π+νν¯
, with a very precisely predicted branching ratio of less than 10−10
,
is among the best processes to reveal indirect effects of new physics.
The NA62 experiment at CERN SPS is designed to study the K+→π+νν¯
decay and to measure its branching ratio using a decay-in-flight technique.
NA62 took data in 2016, 2017 and 2018, reaching the sensitivity of the Standard Model
for the K+→π+νν¯
decay by the analysis of the 2016 and 2017 data,
and providing the most precise measurement of the branching ratio to date
by the analysis of the 2018 data.
This measurement is also used to set limits on BR(K+→π+X
), where X
is a scalar
or pseudo-scalar particle.
The final result of the BR(K+→π+νν¯
) measurement and its interpretation in terms
of the K+→π+X
decay from the analysis of the full 2016-2018 data set is presented, and future plans and prospects are reviewed
BM@N and MPD experiments at NICA
The project NICA (Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility) aims to study hot and baryon rich QCD matter in heavy ion collisions in the energy range SNN = 4 − 11 GeV. The rich heavy-ion physics program will be performed at two experiments, BM@N (Baryonic Matter at Nuclotron) at beams extracted from the Nuclotron, and at MPD (Multi-Purpose Detector) at the NICA collider. This program covers a variety of phenomena in strongly interacting matter of the highest baryonic density, which includes study of collective effects, production of hyperon and hypernuclei, in-medium modification of meson properties, and event-by-event fluctuations
BM@N and MPD experiments at NICA
The project NICA (Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility) aims to study hot and baryon rich QCD matter in heavy ion collisions in the energy range SNN = 4 − 11 GeV. The rich heavy-ion physics program will be performed at two experiments, BM@N (Baryonic Matter at Nuclotron) at beams extracted from the Nuclotron, and at MPD (Multi-Purpose Detector) at the NICA collider. This program covers a variety of phenomena in strongly interacting matter of the highest baryonic density, which includes study of collective effects, production of hyperon and hypernuclei, in-medium modification of meson properties, and event-by-event fluctuations
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