5,901 research outputs found
Probing the topological charge in QCD matter via multiplicity up-down asymmetry
Relativistic heavy ion collisions provide the possibility to study the
topological charge in QCD matter through the event-by-event fluctuating net
axial charge or nonequal numbers of left- and right-handed quarks they generate
in the produced quark-gluon plasma. Based on the chiral kinetic approach for
nearly massless quarks and antiquarks in the strong vorticity field produced
along the normal direction of the reaction plane of non-central heavy ion
collisions, we show that a unique signal for the topological charge in QCD
matter can be identified from the asymmetric distribution of particles with
momenta pointing in the upper and lower hemispheres of the reaction plane as a
result of the fluctuating net axial charge.Comment: 6 pages and 4 figure
Probing QCD critical fluctuations from light nuclei production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions
Based on the coalescence model for light nuclei production, we show that the
yield ratio of
, d, and H in heavy-ion collisions is sensitive to the neutron relative
density fluctuation
at kinetic freeze-out. From recent experimental data in central Pb+Pb
collisions at ~GeV, ~GeV, ~GeV, ~GeV and
~GeV measured by the NA49 Collaboration at the CERN Super Proton
Synchrotron (SPS), we find a possible non-monotonic behavior of as a
function of the collision energy with a peak at ~GeV,
indicating that the density fluctuations become the largest in collisions at
this energy. With the known chemical freeze-out conditions determined from the
statistical model fit to experimental data, we obtain a chemical freeze-out
temperature of MeV and baryon chemical potential of MeV
at this collision energy, which are close to the critical endpoint in the QCD
phase diagram predicted by various theoretical studies. Our results thus
suggest the potential usefulness of the yield ratio of light nuclei in
relativistic heavy-ion collisions as a direct probe of the large density
fluctuations associated with the QCD critical phenomena.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables. Correlations between neutron and proton
density fluctuations considered and presentation improved. Accepted version
to appear in PL
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