Multiplicity Scaling of Light Nuclei Production in Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions

TL;DR

This study investigates how the production ratios of light nuclei like deuterons and tritons depend on collision multiplicity in heavy-ion collisions, revealing a scaling behavior that can validate production mechanisms and aid in QCD critical point searches.

Contribution

It demonstrates a universal multiplicity scaling of light nuclei production ratios across different models and collision energies, linking it to the size of emission sources and providing a baseline for critical point searches.

Findings

The ratio N_t N_p/N_d^2 decreases monotonically with increasing multiplicity.

The scaling behavior is consistent across different models and collision energies.

This ratio can serve as a baseline in QCD critical point investigations.

Abstract

Using the nucleon coalescence model based on kinetic freeze-out nucleons from the 3D MUSIC+UrQMD and the 2D VISHNU hybrid model with a crossover equation of state, we study the multiplicity dependence of deuteron ($d$) and triton ($t$) production from central to peripheral Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}=$ 7.7, 14.5, 19.6, 27, 39, 62.4 and 200 GeV and Pb+Pb at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}=2.76$ TeV, respectively. It is found that the ratio $N_t N_p/N_d^2$ of the proton yield $N_p$, deuteron yield $N_d$ and triton yield $N_t$ exhibits a scaling behavior in its multiplicity dependence, i.e., decreasing monotonically with increasing charged-particle multiplicity. A similar multiplicity scaling of this ratio is also found in the nucleon coalescence calculation based on kinetic freeze-out nucleons from a multiphase transport (AMPT) model. The scaling behavior of $N_t N_p/N_d^2$ can be naturally explained by the interplay between the sizes of light nuclei and the nucleon emission source. We further argue that the multiplicity scaling of $N_t N_p/N_d^2$ can be used to validate the production mechanism of light nuclei, and the collision energy dependence of this yield ratio can further serve as a baseline in the search for the QCD critical point in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.