Higher Moments of Net Proton Multiplicity Distributions at RHIC
We report the first measurements of the kurtosis ({kappa}), skewness (S), and variance ({sigma}{sup 2}) of net-proton multiplicity (N{sub p}-N{sub p{sup -}}) distributions at midrapidity for Au+Au collisions at {radical}s{sub NN} = 19.6, 62.4, and 200 GeV corresponding to baryon chemical potentials ({mu}B) between 200 and 20 MeV. Our measurements of the products {kappa}{sigma}{sup 2} and S{sigma}, which can be related to theoretical calculations sensitive to baryon number susceptibilities and long-range correlations, are constant as functions of collision centrality. We compare these products with results from lattice QCD and various models without a critical point and study the {radical}s{sub NN} dependence of {kappa}{sigma}{sup 2}. From the measurements at the three beam energies, we find no evidence for a critical point in the QCD phase diagram for {mu}B below 200 MeV.
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE - Office Of Science
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-98CH10886
- OSTI ID:
- 991722
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-94085-2010-JA; PRLTAO; R&D Project: PO-003; KB0202012; TRN: US1007546
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review Letters, Vol. 105, Issue 2; ISSN 0031-9007
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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