Colour-singlet clustering of partons and recombination model for hadronization of quark-gluon plasma

TL;DR

This paper proposes a model where colour-singlet restrictions on partons lead to their recombination into hadrons, explaining observed particle ratios and flow scaling in quark-gluon plasma.

Contribution

It introduces a colour-singlet clustering approach for partons that underpins a recombination model for quark-gluon plasma hadronization, connecting internal colour structure to observable phenomena.

Findings

Explains proton-to-pion ratio in heavy-ion collisions

Accounts for quark number scaling of elliptic flow

Provides a basis for hadronization modeling

Abstract

$SU(N_c)$ colour-singlet restriction, along with flavour and spin symmetry, on thermal partonic ensemble is shown to recombine the partons with internal colour structure into colour-singlet multi-quark clusters which can be identified with various hadronic modes at a given temperature. This provides a possible basis for recombination model for hadronization of quark-gluon plasma. This also leads to a natural explanation for the ratio of (anti)protons to pions and the quark number scaling of the elliptic flow coefficient in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.