Remembrance of things past: non-equilibrium effects and the evolution of critical fluctuations near the QCD critical point

TL;DR

This paper investigates how non-equilibrium effects influence the evolution of critical fluctuations, specifically non-Gaussian cumulants, near the QCD critical point, impacting experimental search strategies.

Contribution

It advances understanding of non-equilibrium dynamics of critical fluctuations and their signatures in heavy-ion collision experiments.

Findings

Non-Gaussian cumulants are significantly affected by non-equilibrium effects.

Implications for experimental detection of the QCD critical point are discussed.

Progress in modeling the evolution of critical fluctuations is presented.

Abstract

We report on recent progress in the study of the evolution of non-Gaussian cumulants of critical fluctuations. We explore the implications of non-equilibrium effects on the search for the QCD critical point.