Charge and critical density of strange quark matter

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the electric charge of strange quark matter influences its critical density, highlighting that negative charges can lower the density and aid experimental detection, but excessive negativity disrupts flavor equilibrium.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the relationship between charge and critical density in strange quark matter, emphasizing the role of negative charges in experimental searches.

Findings

Negative charges lower the critical density of strange quark matter.

Highly negatively charged strangelets are more likely in experiments.

Excessive negative charge disrupts flavor equilibrium.

Abstract

The electric charge of strange quark matter is of vital importance to experiments. A recent investigation shows that strangelets are most likely highly negatively charged, rather than slightly positively charged as previously believed. Our present study indicates that negative charges can indeed lower the critical density, and thus be favorable to the experimental searches in heavy ion collisions. However, too much negative charges can make it impossible to maintain flavor equilibrium.