Probe the QCD phase diagram with \phi-mesons in high energy nuclear collisions

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent RHIC results on -meson production in high-energy nuclear collisions, highlighting how -meson elliptic flow can help locate the QCD phase boundary and understand the transition from hadronic to partonic matter.

Contribution

It discusses how -meson elliptic flow measurements can be used as a probe to identify the QCD phase transition in heavy-ion collisions.

Findings

-meson production indicates formation of a dense partonic medium.

Elliptic flow of -mesons can signal the QCD phase boundary.

Results support the existence of collective behavior in the medium.

Abstract

High-energy nuclear collision provide a unique tool to study the strongly interacting medium. Recent results from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) on \phi-meson production has revealed the formation of a dense partonic medium. The medium constituents are found to exhibit collective behaviour initiated due to partonic interactions in the medium. We present a brief review of the recent results on \phi production in heavy-ion collisions at RHIC. One crucial question is where, in the phase diagram, does the transition happen for the matter changing from hadronic to partonic degrees of freedom. We discuss how \phi-meson elliptic flow in heavy-ion collisions can be used for the search of the QCD phase boundary.