Finite-size scaling as a tool in the search for the QCD critical point in heavy ion data

Journal Article · Fri Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVC.84.011903· OSTI ID:21596544

Fraga, Eduardo S ^[1]; Palhares, Leticia F ^[1]; Sorensen, Paul ^[2]

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1. Instituto de Fisica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Caixa Postal 68528, Rio de Janeiro, RJ-21941-972 (Brazil)
2. Physics Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973-5000 (United States)

Given the short lifetime and small volume of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) formed in heavy ion collisions, a possible critical endpoint (CEP) will be blurred in a region and the effects from criticality severely smoothened. Nevertheless, the nonmonotonic behavior of correlation functions near criticality for systems of different sizes, given by different centralities in heavy ion collisions, must obey finite-size scaling. We apply the predicting power of scaling plots to the search for the CEP of strong interactions using data from heavy ion collisions at RHIC. The results of our data analysis exclude a critical point below chemical potentials {mu}{approx}400 MeV. Extrapolating the analysis, we speculate that criticality could appear slightly above {mu}{approx}500 MeV. Using available data we extrapolate our scaling curves to predict the behavior of new data at lower center-of-mass energy, currently being investigated in the Beam Energy Scan program at RHIC. If heavy-ion collisions drop out of the QGP phase before the CEP is reached, finite-size scaling might be the only way to experimentally estimate its position in the phase diagram.

• OSTI ID: 21596544
• Journal Information: Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics, Vol. 84, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevC.84.011903; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0556-2813
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
BEAMS
BROOKHAVEN RHIC
CENTER-OF-MASS SYSTEM
CORRELATION FUNCTIONS
CRITICALITY
DATA ANALYSIS
HEAVY ION REACTIONS
HEAVY IONS
LIFETIME
MEV RANGE 100-1000
PHASE DIAGRAMS
QUANTUM CHROMODYNAMICS
QUARK MATTER
SCALING
STRONG INTERACTIONS
ACCELERATORS
BASIC INTERACTIONS
CHARGED PARTICLES
DIAGRAMS
ENERGY RANGE
FIELD THEORIES
FUNCTIONS
HEAVY ION ACCELERATORS
INFORMATION
INTERACTIONS
IONS
MATTER
MEV RANGE
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
STORAGE RINGS