No Arabic abstract
We construct a simple two-phase equation of state intended to resemble that of compressed baryon-rich matter and then introduce a gradient term in the compressional energy density to take account of fintie-range effects in non-uniform configurations. With this model we study the interface between the two coexisting phases and obtain estimates for the associated interface tension. Subsequently, we incorporate the finite-range equation of state into ideal or viscous fluid dynamics and derive the collective dispersion relation for the mechanically unstable modes of bulk matter in the spinodal region of the thermodynamic phase diagram. Combining these results with time scales extracted from existing dynamical transport simulations, we discuss the prospects for spinodal phase separation to occur in nuclear collisions. We argue that these can be optimized by a careful tuning of the collision energy to maximize the time spent by the bulk of the system inside the mechanically unstable spinodal region of the phase diagram. Our specific numerical estimates suggest cautious optimism that this phenomenon may in fact occur, though a full dynamical simulation is needed for a detailed assessment.
As the density of matter increases, atomic nuclei disintegrate into nucleons and, eventually, the nucleons themselves disintegrate into quarks. The phase transitions (PTs) between these phases can vary from steep first order to smooth crossovers, depending on certain conditions. First-order PTs with more than one globally conserved charge, so-called non-congruent PTs, have characteristic differences compared to congruent PTs. In this conference proceeding we discuss the non-congruence of the quark deconfinement PT at high densities and/or temperatures relevant for heavy-ion collisions, neutron stars, proto-neutron stars, supernova explosions, and compact-star mergers.
We study the formation of baryons as composed of quarks and diquarks in hot and dense hadronic matter in a Nambu--Jona-Lasinio (NJL)--type model. We first solve the Dyson-Schwinger equation for the diquark propagator and then use this to solve the Dyson-Schwinger equation for the baryon propagator. We find that stable baryon resonances exist only in the phase of broken chiral symmetry. In the chirally symmetric phase, we do not find a pole in the baryon propagator. In the color-superconducting phase, there is a pole, but is has a large decay width. The diquark does not need to be stable in order to form a stable baryon, a feature typical for so-called Borromean states. Varying the strength of the diquark coupling constant, we also find similarities to the properties of an Efimov states.
We consider the (3+1) dimensional expansion and cooling of the chirally-restored and deconfined matter at finite net-baryon densities as expected in heavy-ion collisions at moderate energies. In our approach, we consider chiral fields and the Polyakov loop as dynamical variables coupled to a medium represented by a quark-antiquark fluid. The interaction between the fields and the fluid leads to dissipation and noise, which in turn affect the field fluctuations. We demonstrate how inhomogeneities in the net-baryon density may form during an evolution through the spinodal region of the first-order phase transition. For comparison, the dynamics of transition through the crossover and critical end point is also considered.
We consider a model of chiral phase transitions in nuclei, suggested by T.D. Lee et al., and argue that such transitions may be seen in cumulative effect investigations. Finite-range effects arising from the smallness of the system are briefly discussed. Some general proposals for future NICA and CBM experiments are given.
We construct the nuclear and quark matter equations of state at zero temperature in an effective quark theory (the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model), and discuss the phase transition between them. The nuclear matter equation of state is based on the quark-diquark description of the single nucleon, while the quark matter equation of state includes the effects of scalar diquark condensation (color superconductivity). The effect of diquark condensation on the phase transition is discussed in detail.