Search for the QCD critical point in nuclear collisions at the CERN SPS

Pion production in nuclear collisions at the SPS is investigated with the aim to search, in a restricted domain of the phase diagram, for power-laws in the behaviour of correlations which are compatible with critical QCD. We have analysed interactions of nuclei of different size (p+p, C+C, Si+Si, Pb...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Anticic, T., Baatar, B., Barna, D., Bartke, J., Betev, L., Bialkowska, H., Blume, C., Boimska, B., Botje, M., Bracinik, J., Buncic, P., Cerny, V., Christakoglou, P., Chung, P., Chvala, O., Cramer, J.G., Dinkelaker, P., Eckardt, V., Fodor, Z., Foka, P., Friese, V., Gazdzicki, M., Genchev, V., Grebieszkow, K., Hohne, C., Kadija, K., Karev, A., Kolesnikov, V.I., Kowalski, M., Kreps, M., Laszlo, A., Lacey, R., van Leeuwen, M., Lungwitz, B., Makariev, M., Malakhov, A.I., Mateev, M., Melkumov, G.L., Mitrovski, M., Mrowczynski, St., Nicolic, V., Palla, G., Panagiotou, A.D., Petridis, A., Peryt, W., Pikna, M., Pluta, J., Prindle, D., Puhlhofer, F., Renfordt, R., Roland, C., Roland, G., Rybczynski, M., Rybicki, A., Sandoval, A., Schmitz, N., Schuster, T., Seyboth, P., Sikler, F., Sitar, B., Skrzypczak, E., Slodkowski, M., Stefanek, G., Stock, R., Strobele, H., Susa, T., Szuba, M., Varga, D., Vassiliou, M., Veres, G.I., Vesztergombi, G., Vranic, D., Wlodarczyk, Z., Antoniou, N.G., Diakonos, F.K., Mavromanolakis, G.
Lenguaje:eng
Publicado: 2009
Materias:
Nuclear Physics - Experiment
Acceso en línea:https://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.81.064907
http://cds.cern.ch/record/1230242
Descripción
Sumario:Pion production in nuclear collisions at the SPS is investigated with the aim to search, in a restricted domain of the phase diagram, for power-laws in the behaviour of correlations which are compatible with critical QCD. We have analysed interactions of nuclei of different size (p+p, C+C, Si+Si, Pb+Pb) at 158A GeV adopting, as appropriate observables, scaled factorial moments in a search for intermittent fluctuations in transverse dimensions. The analysis is performed for $\pi^+\pi^-$ pairs with invariant mass very close to the two-pion threshold. In this sector one may capture critical fluctuations of the sigma component in a hadronic medium, even if the $\sigma$-meson has no well defined vacuum state. Our results indicate the presence of power-law fluctuations in the freeze-out state of the Si+Si system approaching in size the prediction of critical QCD.

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