Distillation and survival of strange-quark-matter droplets in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions
- Institut fuer Theoretische Physik, Universitaet Erlangen, Staudtstrasse 7, D-8520 Erlangen (Germany)
- Institut fuer Theoretische Physik, J. W. Goethe-Universitaet, Robert-Mayer-Strasse 10, D-6000 Frankfurt am Main 11 (Germany)
Recently it has been suggested that rather cold droplets of absolutely stable or metastable strange-quark matter may be distilled in heavy-ion collisions during the phase transition from a baryon-rich quark-gluon plasma (QGP) to hadron matter. Here we present a model describing the hadronization of the QGP through particle emission, which is based solely on thermodynamical arguments. Pions and {ital K}{sup +}'s and {ital K}{sup 0}'s carry away entropy and antistrangeness from the system, thus facilitating the cooling process and the strangelet formation. Our results are supported by revised more sophisticated rate calculations. Two rather unexpected results are obtained when this model is applied to the investigation of strangelet production. The strangeness separation mechanism and the formation process works well even for higher initial entropies per baryon, tantamount to higher bombarding energies. The surviving strangelets have a rather high strangeness content, {ital f}{sub {ital s}}{similar to}1.2--2 (i.e., {ital Z}/{ital A}{similar to}({minus}0.1)--({minus}0.5)). Hence droplets of strange-quark matter with a baryon number of {similar to}10--30 and with a negative charge may be produced. They may serve as a unique signature for the transient formation of a quark-gluon plasma in heavy-ion collisions.
- OSTI ID:
- 6091722
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review, D (Particles Fields); (United States), Vol. 44:11; ISSN 0556-2821
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
HEAVY ION REACTIONS
STRANGE PARTICLES
QUARK MATTER
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
BAG MODEL
BARYON NUMBER
HADRONS
KAONS NEUTRAL SHORT-LIVED
PARTICLE PRODUCTION
PIONS
RELATIVISTIC RANGE
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
BOSONS
CHARGED-PARTICLE REACTIONS
COMPOSITE MODELS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ENERGY RANGE
EXTENDED PARTICLE MODEL
KAONS
KAONS NEUTRAL
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MATTER
MESONS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
PARTICLE MODELS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PSEUDOSCALAR MESONS
QUARK MODEL
STRANGE MESONS
662230* - Quantum Chromodynamics- (1992-)
663450 - Heavy-Ion-Induced Reactions & Scattering- (1992-)