Hadronic resonances can play a pivotal role in providing experimental evidence for partial chiral symmetry restoration in the deconfined quark-gluon phase produced at RHIC. Their lifetimes, which are comparable to the lifetime of the partonic plasma phase, make them an invaluable tool to study medium modifications to the resonant state due to the chiral transition. In this paper we show that the heavier, but still abundant, light and strange quark resonances K*, phi, Delta and Lambda* have large probability to be produced well within the plasma phase due to their short formation times. We demonstrate that, under particular kinematic conditions, these resonances can be formed and will decay inside the partonic state, but still carry sufficient momentum to not interact strongly with the hadronic medium after the QCD phase transition. Thus, K*, phi, Delta and Lambda* should exhibit the characteristic property modifications which can be attributed to chiral symmetry restoration, such as mass shifts, width broadening or branching ratio modifications.
In a hydrodynamic model, we have analysed the direct photon data obtained by the WA98 collaboration in 158 A GeV Pb+Pb collisions at CERN SPS. The transverse expansion of the system was taken into account. Two scenarios (i) formation of quark-gluon plasma and (ii) formation of hot hadronic gas were considered. Equally well description to the data were obtained in both the scenarios. However, hadronic gas scenario require very high initial temperature ($\sim$ 300 MeV) and it is difficult to conceive existence of hadron gas at that high temperature. If the hadronic fluid has small radial velocit…
Baryon annihilations during the hadronic stage of heavy-ion collisions affects final-state baryon and antibaryon yields and final-state correlations of baryons and antibaryons. Understanding annihilation is important for addressing questions about the chemistry at the beginning of the hadronic stage, and for interpreting charge-balance correlations involving baryons. Here, charge balance functions, using protons and antiprotons binned by relative momentum, rapidity and azimuthal angle, are shown to clarify the amount of annihilation in the hadronic stage. This enables a more accurate extractio…
We show that if the hadronic resonance gas (HRG), with viscosity to entropy ratio $η/s\approx$0.24, is physical at temperature $T\approx$220 MeV, charged particles $p_T$ spectra and elliptic flow in Au+Au collisions at RHIC, over a wide range of collision centrality do not distinguish between initial QGP fluid and initial hadronic resonance gas. Unambiguous identification of bulk of the matter produced in Au+Au collisions require clear demonstration that HRG is unphysical at temperature $T<$200 MeV. It calls for precise lattice simulations with realistic boundary conditions.
We have analysed the preliminary PHENIX data on the transverse momentum distribution of direct photons in 0-20% centrality Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=200 GeV. In ideal hydrodynamics, data are explained if Au+Au collision produces Quark-Gluon-Plasma at the temperature $T_i$=400 MeV, at an initial time $τ_i$=0.6 fm. PHENIX data are not explained in the alternate scenario when Au+Au collisions produces hot hadronic gas with initial temperature within physically acceptable limit.
We discuss the indirect and direct role of the short-lived resonances as probes of QGP freeze-out process. The indirect effect is the distortion of stable single particle yields and spectra by contributions of decaying resonances, which alter significantly the parameters obtained in fits to experimental data. We than discuss the direct observation of short-lived resonances as a probe of post-hadronization dynamics allowing to distinguish between different hadronization models.
We performed state-of-the-art QCD effective kinetic theory simulations of chemically equilibrating QGP in longitudinally expanding systems. We find that chemical equilibration takes place after hydrodynamization, but well before local thermalization. By relating the transport properties of QGP and the system size we estimate that hadronic collisions with final state multiplicities $dN_\text{ch}/dη> 10^2$ live long enough to reach approximate chemical equilibrium for all collision systems. Therefore we expect the saturation of strangeness enhancement to occur at the same multiplicity in proton-…
In this contribution the results from various transport models on different observables - considered as possible signals of the phase transition from hadronic matter to the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) - are briefly reviewed.
The medium dependent finite width is introduced into an exactly solvable model with the general mass-volume spectrum of the QGP bags. The model allows us to estimate the minimal value of the QGP bags' width from the lattice QCD data. The large width of the QGP bags not only explains the observed deficit in the number of hadronic resonances comparing to the Hagedorn mass spectrum, but also clarifies the reason why the heavy QGP bags cannot be directly observed as metastable states in a hadronic phase.
Preliminary charge balance functions from the STAR Collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) are compared to a model where quarks are produced in two waves. If a chemically equilibrated quark-gluon plasma (QGP) is created the strength and diffusive spread of the first wave should be governed by the chemical composition of the QGP, while the second wave should be determined by the increased number of quarks required to make the observed final-state hadrons. A simple model parameterizes the chemistry of the super-hadronic matter and the two correlation lengths for the two waves…
We update our chemical analysis of (strange) hadrons produced at the SPS in Pb--Pb collisions at 158A GeV and and present a first chemical analysis of RHIC results. We report that the shape of (anti)hyperon m_T-spectra in a thermal freeze-out analysis leads to freeze-out conditions found in chemical analysis, implying sudden strange hyperon production. We discuss how a combined analysis of several strange hadron resonances of differing lifespan can be used to understand the dynamical process present during chemical and thermal freeze-outs. In medium resonance quenching is considered.
The dynamical development of the cooling and hadronizing quark-gluon Plasma (QGP) is studied in a simple model assuming critical fluctuations in the QGP to Hadronic Matter (HM) and a first order transition in a small finite system. We consider an earlier determined free-energy density curve in the neighbourhood of the critical point, with two local minima corresponding to the equilibrium hadronic and QGP configurations. In this approach the divergence at e = 0 eliminates fluctuations with negative or zero energy. The barrier between the equilibrium states is obtained from an estimated value of…
If nuclear collisions lead to QGP formation then the ratio of $ψ\prime$ over $J/ψ$ will remain constant with $E_T$ as both $J/ψ$ and $ψ\prime$ are melted in the QGP. On the other hand, if hot hadronic matter is produced, the ratio will continually fall with $E_T$, as $ψ\prime$'s are more suppressed in hadronic matter than the $J/ψ$'s. From the existing NA50 Pb+Pb data, we have constructed the ratio $σ(ψ\prime)/σ(J/ψ)$, as a function of $E_T$. The ratio give indication of QGP formation, but definite conclusion can not be reached. We have also given the prediction for the ratio at RHIC energy. I…
We compare the photon emission rates from hot hadronic matter with in-medium mass shift and Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP). It is observed that the WA98 data can be well reproduced by hadronic initial state with initial temperature $\sim 200$ MeV if the universal scaling of temperature dependent hadronic masses are assumed and the evolution of temperature with time is taken from transport model or (3+1) dimensional hydrodynamics. The data can also be reproduced by QGP initial state with similar initial temperature and non-zero initial radial velocity.
Within an exactly solvable model I discuss the influence of the medium dependent finite width of quark gluon plasma (QGP) bags on their equation of state. It is shown that the large width of the QGP bags not only explains the observed deficit in the number of hadronic resonances, but also clarifies the reason why the heavy QGP bags cannot be directly observed as metastable states in a hadronic phase. I show how the model allows one to estimate the minimal value of the width of QGP bags being heavier than 2.5 GeV from a variety of the lattice QCD data and to get the minimal resonance width at z…
Ratios of hadronic abundances are analyzed for pp and nucleus-nucleus collisions at sqrt(s)=20 GeV using the microscopic transport model UrQMD. Secondary interactions significantly change the primordial hadronic cocktail of the system. A comparison to data shows a strong dependence on rapidity. Without assuming thermal and chemical equilibrium, predicted hadron yields and ratios agree with many of the data, the few observed discrepancies are discussed.
We demonstrate that both quark-gluon plasma (QGP) and hadronic gas (HG) models of the central fireball created in S -> W collisions at 200 GeV A are possible sources of the recently observed strange (anti-) baryons. From the theoretical point of view, the HG interpretation we attempt remains more obscure because of the high fireball temperature required. The thermal properties of the fireball as determined by the particle ratios, are natural for the QGP state. We show that the total particle multiplicity emerging from the central rapidity region allows to distinguish between the two scenarios.
Hadronic resonances, having very short lifetime, like $\rm{K}^{*0}$, can act as useful probes to understand and estimate lifetime of hadronic phase in ultra-relativistic proton-proton, p--Pb and heavy-ion collisions. Resonances with relatively longer lifetime, like $ϕ$ meson, can serve as a tool to locate the QGP phase boundary. We estimate a lower limit of hadronic phase lifetime in Cu--Cu and Au--Au collisions at RHIC, and in pp, p--Pb and Pb--Pb collisions at different LHC collision energies. Also, we obtain the effective temperature of $ϕ$ meson using Boltzmann-Gibbs Blast-Wave function, w…
Is the new state of matter formed in relativistic heavy ion collisions the deconfined quark--gluon plasma? We survey the status of several strange hadron observables and discuss how these measurement help understand the dense hadronic matter.
We investigate hadron production and transverse hadron spectra in nucleus-nucleus collisions from 2 $A\cdot$GeV to 21.3 $A\cdot$TeV within two independent transport approaches (UrQMD and HSD) based on quark, diquark, string and hadronic degrees of freedom. The enhancement of pion production in central Au+Au (Pb+Pb) collisions relative to scaled $pp$ collisions (the 'kink') is described well by both approaches without involving a phase transition. However, the maximum in the $K^+/π^+$ ratio at 20 to 30 A$\cdot$GeV (the 'horn') is missed by $\sim$ 40%. Also, at energies above $\sim$ 5 A$\cdot$Ge…
It is believed that a novel state of matter - Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) will be transiently produced if normal hadronic matter is subjected to sufficiently high temperature and/or density. We have investigated the possibility of QGP formation in the ultra-relativistic collisions of heavy ions through the electromagnetic probes - photons and dileptons. The formulation of the real and virtual photon production rate from strongly interacting matter is studied in the framework of Thermal Field Theory. Since signals from the QGP will pick up large backgrounds from hadronic matter we have performed a…
Employing nonperturbative transport coefficients for heavy-flavor (HF) diffusion through quark-gluon plasma (QGP), hadronization and hadronic matter, we compute $D$- and $B$-meson observables in Pb+Pb ($\sqrt{s}$=2.76\,TeV) collisions at the LHC. Elastic heavy-quark scattering in the QGP is evaluated within a thermodynamic $T$-matrix approach, generating resonances close to the critical temperature which are utilized for recombination into $D$ and $B$ mesons, followed by hadronic diffusion using effective hadronic scattering amplitudes. The transport coefficients are implemented via Fokker-Pla…
We systematically compare an event-by-event transport+viscous hydrodynamics hybrid model to data from the RHIC beam energy scan using a general Bayesian method. We demonstrate how the inclusion of multistrange hadron observables affects the outcome of the Bayesian analysis and conduct an in depth analysis of the viability of $ϕ$ and $Ω$ as probes of the transition region between a deconfined quark-gluon plasma and hadronic phase in heavy ion collisions at higher-end RHIC collision energies. Utilizing UrQMD to model the final hadronic interactions, we examine the collision rates of $ϕ$ and $Ω$ …
The transition from hadronic to partonic degrees of freedom in the course of a relativistic heavy-ion collision is described by the microscopic covariant Parton-Hadron-String Dynamics (PHSD) transport approach. Studying Pb+Pb reactions from 40 to 158 AGeV and comparing the PHSD results to those of the Hadron-String Dynamics (HSD) approach without a phase transition to the QGP, we observe that the existence of the partonic phase has a sizable influence on the transverse mass distribution of final kaons due to the repulsive partonic mean fields. Furthermore, we find a significant effect of the Q…
We study quark-gluon plasma (QGP) and hadronic gas (HG) models of the central fireball presumed to be the source of abundantly produced strange (anti-)baryons in S -> W collisions at 200 GeV A. We consider how multi-strange (anti-)baryon multiplicities depend on strangeness conservation and compare the HG and QGP fireball scenarios. We argue that the total particle multiplicity emerging from the central rapidity region as well as the variation of production rates with changes in the beam energy allows to distinguish between the two reaction scenarios.
A combined effective model reproducing the equation of state of hadronic matter as obtained in recent lattice QCD simulations is presented. The model reproduces basic physical characteristics encountered in dense hadronic matter in the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) phase and the lower temperature hadron resonance gas phase. The hadronic phase is described by means of an extended Mott-Hagedorn resonance gas while the QGP phase is described by the extended PNJL model. The dissociation of hadrons is obtained by including the state dependent hadron resonance width.
The productions of real photons from quark gluon plasma and hot hadronic matter formed after the nucleus - nucleus collisions at ultra-relativistic energies are discussed. The effects of the spectral shift of the hadrons at finite temperature on the production of photons are investigated. On the basis of the present analysis it is shown that the photon spectra measured by WA98 collaboration in Pb + Pb collisions at CERN SPS energies can be explained by both QGP as well as hadronic initial states if the spectral shift of hadrons at finite temperature is taken into account. Several other works o…
Thermalization and collective flow of charm (c) and bottom (b) quarks are evaluated from elastic parton scattering via "D"- and "B"-meson resonances in an expanding, strongly interacting quark-gluon plasma at RHIC. Pertinent drag and diffusion coefficients are implemented into a relativistic Langevin simulation to compute transverse-momentum spectra and azimuthal flow asymmetries (v_2) of c- and b-quarks. Upon hadronization (including coalescence and fragmentation) and semileptonic D- and B-decays, the resulting electron spectra (R_{AA} and v_2) are compared to recent RHIC data.
We study the thermal emission of photons from hot and dense strongly interacting hadronic matter at temperatures close to the expected phase transition to the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP). Earlier calculations of photon radiation from ensembles of interacting mesons are re-examined with additional constraints, including new production channels as well as an assessment of hadronic form factor effects. Whereas strangeness-induced photon yields turn out to be moderate, the hitherto not considered t-channel exchange of omega mesons is found to contribute appreciably for photon energies above ~1.5 GeV.…
We study linear and nonlinear wave propagation in a dense and cold hadron gas and also in a cold quark gluon plasma, taking viscosity into account and using the Navier-Stokes equation. The equation of state of the hadronic phase is derived from the nonlinear Walecka model in the mean field approximation. The quark gluon plasma phase is described by the MIT equation of state. We show that in a hadron gas viscosity strongly damps wave propagation and also hinders shock wave formation. This marked difference between the two phases may have phenomenological consequences and lead to new QGP signatu…
We study the effects of hadronic rescattering on hadron distributions in high-energy nuclear collisions by using an integrated dynamical approach. This approach is based on a hybrid model combining (3+1)-dimensional ideal hydrodynamics for the quark gluon plasma (QGP), and a transport model for the hadron resonance gas. Since the hadron distributions are the result of the entire expansion history of the system, understanding the QGP properties requires investigating how rescattering during the hadronic stage affects the final distributions of hadrons. We include multistrange hadrons in our stu…
We calculate excitation functions for various dynamical quantities as well as experimental observables from SIS to RHIC energies within the HSD transport approach which is based on string, quark, diquark ($q, \bar{q}, qq, \bar{q}\bar{q}$) and hadronic degrees of freedom without including any explicit phase transition to a quark-gluon plasma (QGP). It is argued that the failure of this more 'conventional' approach in comparison to experimental data should indicate the presence of a different phase which might be either attributed to space-time regions of vanishing scalar quark condensate ($<q\b…
We calculate the free energy, entropy and pressure of the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) at finite temperature and density with a given fraction of spin-up and spin-down quarks using a MIT bag model with corrections up to ${\cal O} (g^4 \ln g^2)$. The expressions for the specific heat and the spin susceptibility are derived in terms of Fermi momentum and temperature. The effects of interaction between the quarks on the properties of the QGP phase are also investigated. Within our phenomenological model, we estimate the transition temperature $T_c$ by constructing the phase boundary between the hadro…
It has been shown that the thermal photon and the lepton pair spectra can be used to estimate the radial velocity of different phases of the matter formed in nuclear collisions at ultra-relativistic energies. We observe a non-monotonic variation of the flow velocity with invariant mass of the lepton pair which is indicative of two different sources of thermal dilepton sources at early and late stage of the dynamically evolving system. We also show that the study of radial velocity through electromagnetic probes may shed light on the nature of the phase transition from hadrons to QGP.
In the context of the Hagedorn temperature half-centenary I describe our understanding of the hot phases of hadronic matter both below and above the Hagedorn temperature. The first part of the review addresses many frequently posed questions about properties of hadronic matter in different phases, phase transition and the exploration of quark-gluon plasma (QGP). The historical context of the discovery of QGP is shown and the role of strangeness and strange antibaryon signature of QGP illustrated. In the second part I discuss the corresponding theoretical ideas and show how experimental results…
We calculate the Gaussian radius parameters of the pion-emitting source in high energy heavy ion collisions, assuming a first order phase transition from a thermalized Quark-Gluon-Plasma (QGP) to a gas of hadrons. Such a model leads to a very long-lived dissipative hadronic rescattering phase which dominates the properties of the two-pion correlation functions. The radii are found to depend only weakly on the thermalization time tau_i, the critical temperature T_c (and thus the latent heat), and the specific entropy of the QGP. The dissipative hadronic stage enforces large variations of the pi…
We investigate the density fluctuations induced by hadronic interactions at low temperatures and large chemical potentials after the hadronization of quark-gluon plasma~(QGP). We analyze the structures of net-baryon number kurtosis and skewness and elaborate on their relations with the nuclear liquid-gas~(LG) phase transition and hadronic interactions above the critical temperature. Combining with the relevant experimental projects at RHIC/NICA/FAIR/J-PARC/HIAF with collision energies from $200\,$GeV to $1.8\,$GeV, we propose a double-peak structure of kurtosis (skewness) as a function of coll…
We study heavy flavor evolution in the quark-gluon plasma matter and the subsequent hadron gas created in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. The motion of heavy quarks inside the QGP is described using our modified Langevin framework that incorporates both collisional and radiative energy loss mechanisms; and the scatterings between heavy mesons and the hadron gas are simulated with the UrQMD model. We find that the hadronic interaction further suppresses the $D$ meson $R_\mathrm{AA}$ at high $p_\mathrm{T}$ and enhances its $v_2$. And our calculations provide good descriptions of experime…
Since the early eighties, we have shared with Leon Van Hove the following view. That if a QGP were produced in high energy heavy ion colliders, that its hadronization products would likely come from small localized in phase space bubbles of plasma. We develop a model based on HIJING, to which we added a ring of adjoining multiple bubbles in the central rapidity region. Our simulations were designed to be tested by the forthcoming RHIC STAR detector data for 65 GeV/n Au colliding with 65 GeV/n Au. We took into account background and resonance effects to allow a direct comparison with the data. …
We develop a model-independent analysis of hadronic scattering data in the resonance region, where the resonance shape follows from the matrix elements of a Hamiltonian. We investigate the rho meson in the tau decay. We demonstrate that the rho meson resonance in the two-pion decay of the tau lepton is described well through the coupling of a bare rho meson to the two-pion and the four-pion continuum. Furthermore, this four-pion continuum corresponds with the data of the four-pion decay channel of the tau lepton at energies up to 1.1 GeV.
The time-scales of rehadronization are considered for a baryon-free QGP at RHIC and LHC energies. The non-equilibrium nucleation scenario leads to mechanical instability of the supercooled QGP phase which then may be suddenly converted in a timelike deflagration from the supercooled state to a (super)heated hadronic matter. In a model simulation such a sudden process was indeed possible and satisfied energy and momentum conservation with non-decreasing entropy. It is possible to reach a hadronic state frozen out immediately after the timelike deflagration. If a TD leads to a simultaneous hadro…
We study bottom flavor abundance in the early Universe near to a temperature $T_\mathrm{H}\simeq150\,\mathrm{MeV}$, the condition for hadronization of deconfined quark-gluon plasma (QGP). We show bottom flavor abundance nonequilibrium lasting microseconds. In our study we use that in both QGP, and the hadronic gas phase (HG) $b$ and $\bar b$ quarks near $T_\mathrm{H}$ are bound in B-mesons and antimesons subject to $CP$ violating weak decays. A coincident non-equilibrium abundance of bottom flavor can lead to matter genesis at required strength: a) The specific thermal yield per entropy is $n_…
We report our recent work on a hadronic molecule state of the KbarKN system with I=1/2 and J^P=1/2^+. We assume that the Lambda(1405) resonance and the scalar mesons, f_{0}(980), a_{0}(980), are reproduced as quasi-bound states of KbarN and KbarK, respectively. Performing non-relativistic three-body calculations with a variational method for this system, we find a quasibound state of the KbarKN system around 1910 MeV below the three-body breakup threshold. This state corresponds to a new baryon resonance of N* with J^P=1/2^+. We find also that this resonance has the cluster structure of the tw…
The purpose of this contribution is to stress the great importance of polarization observables for the study of nucleon resonances, in particular in the case of deuteron and proton probes. Polarization observables play a unique role in signing the reaction mechanism and bring new information in the microscopic description of baryon resonances. We will calculate the relevant polarization observables, for $p+d$- and $p+α$-collisions, in case of inclusive reactions and for some selected exclusive channels.
We analyze the photon rates from a hadronic gas in equilibrium using chiral reduction formulas and a density expansion. The chiral reduction is carried to second order in the pion density which in principal includes all kinetic processes of the type $X\to πγ$ and $X\to ππγ$. The resulting rates are encoded in the form of vacuum correlation functions which are amenable to experiment. The hadronic rates computed in this work along with the known perturbative QGP rates are integrated over the space-time evolution of a hydrodynamic model tuned to hadronic observables. The resulting yields are comp…
In this letter we will argue that the event-by-event fluctuations of the ratio of positively over negatively charged pions provides a measurements of the number of rho and omega mesons right after hadronization. This finding can be utilized to put the hypothesis of chemical equilibration in relativistic heavy ion collisions to a test.
The Parton-Hadron-String Dynamics (PHSD) transport approach consistently simulates the full evolution of a relativistic heavy-ion collision from the initial hard scatterings string formation through the dynamical deconfinement phase transition to the quark gluon plasma (QGP), to the hadronization and to subsequent interactions in the hadronic phase. The transport theoretical description of quarks and gluons is based on a dynamical quasiparticle model for partons matched to reproduce recent lattice QCD results in thermodynamic equilibrium. The transition from partonic to hadronic degrees of fre…
Relativistic constituent quark models generally describe three-quark systems with particular interactions. The corresponding invariant mass eigenvalue spectra and pertinent eigenstates should exhibit the multiplet structure anticipated for baryon resonances. Taking into account the flavour content, spin structure, and spatial distribution of the baryon wave functions together with mass relations of the eigenvalues and decay properties of the eigenstates, we can link the theoretical mass eigenstates with the experimentally measured resonances. The resulting classification of baryon resonances d…
We consider the thermal production of dileptons and photons at temperatures above the critical temperature in QCD. We use a model where color excitations are suppressed by a small value of the Polyakov loop, the semi Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP). Comparing the semi-QGP to the perturbative QGP, we find a mild enhancement of thermal dileptons. In contrast, to leading logarithmic order in weak coupling there are far fewer hard photons from the semi-QGP than the usual QGP. To illustrate the possible effects on photon and dileptons production in heavy ion collisions, we integrate the rate with a realis…
We update our calculations of thermal-photon production in nuclear collisions at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC). Specifically, we address the recent experimental observation of an elliptic flow of direct photons comparable in magnitude to that of pions, which is at variance with expectations based on quark-gluon plasma (QGP) dominated photon radiation. Our thermal emission rate is based on previous work, i.e., resummed leading-order QGP emission and in-medium hadronic rates in the confined phase. These rates are nearly degenerate at temperatures close to the expected QCD-phase chan…
We study the production of hadronic resonances and their interaction in the partonic and hadronic medium using the EPOS3 model, which employs the UrQMD model for the description of the hadronic phase. We investigate the centrality dependence of the yields and momentum distributions for various resonances (rho(770),K(892),phi(1020),Delta(1232),Sigma(1385),Lambda(1520),Xi(1530) and their antiparticles) in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN= 2.76 TeV. The predictions for K(892) and phi(1020) will be compared with the experimental data from the ALICE collaboration. The observed signal suppression of the K(89…
The drag and diffusion coefficients of heavy baryons ($Λ_c$ and $Λ_b$) in the hadronic phase created in the latter stage of the heavy-ion collisions at RHIC and LHC energies have been evaluated recently. In this work we compute some experimental observables, such as the nuclear suppression factor $R_{AA}$ and the elliptic flow $v_2$ of heavy baryons at RHIC and LHC energies, highlighting the role of the hadronic phase contribution to these observables, which are going to be measured at Run 3 of LHC. For the time evolution of the heavy quarks in the QGP and heavy baryons in the hadronic phase w…
The dynamics of partons, hadrons and strings in relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions is analyzed within the novel Parton-Hadron-String Dynamics (PHSD) transport approach, which is based on a dynamical quasiparticle model for partons (DQPM) matched to reproduce recent lattice-QCD results - including the partonic equation of state - in thermodynamic equilibrium. The transition from partonic to hadronic degrees of freedom is described by covariant transition rates for the fusion of quark-antiquark pairs or three quarks (antiquarks), respectively, obeying flavor current-conservation, color neut…
We study the correlations between quark-antiquark pairs in different quantum number channels in a deconfined plasma by using an effective model of QCD. Using the three flavour PNJL model, the finite temperature spectral functions for different mesonic states are studied at zero and nonzero quark chemical potentials. It is found that in the $η$ channel resonance structures survive above the chiral transition temperature $\tc$, while the kaonic states seem to get washed off just above $\tc$. The sensitivity of the structures to the anomaly term are carefully investigated.
The formation and suppression dynamics of J/Psi, Chi_c and Psi-Prime mesons is studied within the HSD transport approach for Au+Au reactions at the top RHIC energy of sqrt(S)=200 GeV. Two prominent models, which have been discussed for more than a decade, are incorporated, i.e. the 'hadronic comover absorption and reformation' model as well as the 'QGP threshold' scenario, and compared to available experimental data. Our studies demonstrate that both scenarios - compatible with experimental observation at SPS energies - fail severely at RHIC energies. This combined analysis - together with the…
An effective model reproducing the equation of state of hadronic matter as obtained in recent lattice QCD simulations and from hadron resonance gas data is presented. The hadronic phase is described by means of an extended Mott-Hagedorn resonance gas while the QGP phase is described by the extended PNJL model. The dissociation of hadrons is obtained by including the state dependent hadron resonance width. The model gives a quantitative estimate for partial fractions of hadronic and partonic degrees of freedom above $T_c$.
