Dilepton production at next-to-leading order and intermediate invariant-mass observables

TL;DR

This paper calculates the thermal QCD dilepton production rate at next-to-leading order considering finite baryon chemical potential, providing insights into the plasma's baryonic content and temperature through detailed theoretical and simulation analysis.

Contribution

It presents the first next-to-leading order calculation of dilepton rates at finite baryon density, combining finite temperature field theory with hydrodynamic simulations.

Findings

New dilepton production rates at finite baryon chemical potential.

Demonstrated dileptons' sensitivity to plasma baryonic content.

Validated models against RHIC experimental data.

Abstract

The thermal QCD dilepton production rate is calculated at next-to-leading order in the strong coupling and at finite baryon chemical potential. The two-loop virtual photon self-energy is evaluated using finite temperature field theory and combined consistently with the self-energy in the Landau-Pomeranchuk-Migdal regime. We present new results for a dense baryonic plasma. The rates are then integrated using (3+1)-dimensional fluid-dynamical simulations calibrated to reproduce hadronic experimental results obtained at RHIC at energies ranging from those of the Beam Energy Scan to $\sqrt{s_{_{\rm NN}}} = 200$ GeV. We elaborate on the ability for dileptons to relay information about the plasma baryonic content and temperature.