QCD phase diagram and locating critical point using RHIC low energy scan data

TL;DR

This paper proposes using RHIC low energy scan data to identify the QCD critical point by analyzing changes in the transverse momentum of particles during the phase transition.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to locate the QCD critical point through system evolution analysis along the phase transition line using RHIC data.

Findings

Transverse momentum shows distinctive features near the critical point.

System structure changes significantly during the phase transition.

The method provides a potential signal for critical point detection.

Abstract

It is shown that the RHIC energy-scan experiments can serve as an effective tool for studying the system evolution along the first order phase transition line passing the critical point, which is a second order phase transition process. During this process the system structure changes while passing the critical point, and correspondingly, the transverse momentum of the final state particles gets an extra component. This phenomenon can provide useful information about the system structure in different phases and can serve as an effective signal for locating the critical point.