Probing the incompressibility of dense hadronic matter near QCD phase transition in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

TL;DR

This study investigates the incompressibility of dense hadronic matter in relativistic heavy-ion collisions, revealing density-dependent variations and their impact on the hadron-quark phase transition.

Contribution

It introduces a model-based analysis showing that hadronic matter's incompressibility varies with density, affecting phase transition conditions.

Findings

Large incompressibility from nucleon observables

Small incompressibility needed for strange hadron data

Incompressibility influences the critical density of phase transition

Abstract

Based on the extended hadronic transport model of relativistic heavy-ion collisions, the incompressibility of dense hadronic matter created in relativistic Au+Au heavy-ion collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 3$ GeV is studied. By comparing experimental proton directed flow, productions of strange hadrons $\phi$, $K^{-}$ as well as their ratio $\phi/K^{-}$, proton high-order cumulants to the model calculations, a large incompressibility of dense hadronic matter is obtained from nucleon observabels while a rather small incompressibility is needed to fit the data of strange hadrons. This may indicate hadronic matter possesses different incompressibilities in different density regions, i.e., the incompressibility may become stiffer from saturation density to a certain baryon density and then turn to soft before reaching hadron-quark phase transition. The study also shows that the incompressibility significantly affects the critical baryon density of hadron-quark phase transition.