Recent Results and Future Prospects from the STAR Beam Energy Scan Program

TL;DR

The STAR BES-II program has collected high-statistics data across a wide energy range to explore the QCD phase diagram and search for the critical point, including recent results and future prospects.

Contribution

This paper reports on the recent results and future plans from the STAR BES-II program, including data from fixed-target mode and implications for QCD phase diagram mapping.

Findings

High-statistics data covering 3-27 GeV energies.

Insights into the QCD phase diagram and critical point.

Preparation for future analyses and discoveries.

Abstract

The STAR experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory has completed data taking for the second phase of the beam energy scan (BES-II) program, including in a fixed-target (FXT) mode. The BES-II program has collected high-statistics data on Au+Au collisions in the high baryon-density region of the QCD phase diagram. Together those data cover a wide range of per-nucleon center-of-mass energy from 3~GeV to 27~GeV. Recent results and anticipated analyses will be discussed along with implications for mapping the QCD phase diagram and its critical point.