arXiv subjects

Mark I. Gorenstein

Publications and source records attributed to Mark I. Gorenstein.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Hadronic and partonic composition of QCD matter across the crossover

We construct a simple equation of state of strongly interacting matter at zero chemical potentials that provides a unified description of lattice QCD thermodynamics in terms of hadronic and partonic degrees of freedom. The hadronic phase is described by the quantum van der Waals hadron resonance gas, extended by excluded-volume repulsion between mesons, while the quark-gluon plasma is modeled as an ideal gas of quarks and gluons supplemented with a phenomenological interaction term proportional to $T^3$. The two regimes are connected by a smooth crossover switching function. The three model parameters - the meson hard-core radius, the strength of the partonic interaction term, and the switching temperature - are determined from a fit to lattice QCD results for the trace anomaly. The resulting equation of state reproduces the lattice data on the pressure, entropy density, energy density, and speed of sound in the temperature range $T=100$-$500$ MeV. The fit yields a meson hard-core radius $r_M \simeq 0.2$ fm, a partonic interaction scale $A \simeq 600$ MeV, and a switching temperature $T_0 \simeq 216$ MeV, substantially exceeding both the pseudocritical temperature of the QCD chiral crossover and the chemical freeze-out temperature. This finding suggests that the transition from hadronic to partonic degrees of freedom is considerably more gradual than indicated by the chiral pseudocritical temperature alone, with hadronic states remaining an important component of strongly interacting matter up to temperatures of about $250$ MeV, well above the QCD chiral crossover.

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arXiv2025

High-order cumulants and correlation functions near the critical point from molecular dynamics

We present a systematic investigation of particle number fluctuations in the crossover region near the critical endpoint of a first-order phase transition using molecular dynamics simulations of the classical Lennard-Jones fluid. We extend our prior studies to third- and fourth-order cumulants in both coordinate- and momentum-space acceptances and integrated correlation functions (factorial cumulants). We find that, even near the critical point, non-Gaussian cumulants equilibrate on time scales comparable to those of the second-order cumulants, but show stronger finite-size effects. The presence of interactions and of the critical point leads to strong deviations of the cumulants from the ideal-gas baseline in coordinate space; these deviations are expected to persist in momentum space in the presence of collective expansion. In particular, the kurtosis becomes strongly negative, $κσ^2 \ll -1$, on the crossover side of the critical point. However, this signal is significantly diluted once an efficiency cut used to distinguish protons from baryons is applied, leading to $|κσ^2| \lesssim 1$ even in the presence of the critical point. We discuss our results in the context of ongoing measurements of proton number cumulants in heavy-ion collisions in RHIC-BES-II.

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arXiv2025

Chemical freeze-out curve in heavy-ion collisions and the QCD critical point

The chemical freeze-out curve in heavy-ion collisions is investigated in the context of a quantum chromodynamics (QCD) critical point (CP) search at finite baryon densities. Taking the hadron resonance gas picture at face value, chemical freeze-out points at a given baryochemical potential provide a lower bound on the possible temperature of the QCD CP. We first verify that the freeze-out data in heavy-ion collisions are well described by a constant energy per particle curve, $E/N = \rm const$, under strangeness neutrality conditions ($μ_S \neq 0$, $μ_Q \neq 0$). We then evaluate the hypothetical lower bound on the freeze-out curve based on this criterion in the absence of strangeness neutrality ($μ_S = 0$, $μ_Q = 0$) and confront it with recent predictions on the CP location. We find that recent estimates based on Yang-Lee edge singularities from lattice QCD data on coarse lattices ($N_τ = 6$) place the CP significantly below the freeze-out curve, hinting at the importance of performing continuum extrapolation within this method. Predictions based on functional methods and holography place the CP slightly above the freeze-out curve, indicating that the QCD CP may be located very close to the chemical freeze-out in $A$+$A$ collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 3.5$-$6$ GeV.

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arXiv2025

Correlations between nuclear incompressibility, liquid-gas critical point, and quarkyonic transition

We systematically probe different parametrizations of the attractive nuclear force based on real gas models to construct the nuclear matter equation of state. In each of the cases, the repulsion between nucleons is treated in the framework of excluded volume, and interaction parameters are fitted to the empirical properties of the nuclear ground state. We calculate the critical temperature $T_c$ and critical particle number density $n_c$, and find that they are strongly correlated. Both are also correlated with the incompressibility $K_0$ in the nuclear ground state. We also include a quarkyonic matter phase in the quasiparticle description and investigate the relationships among $K_0$, transition density to the quarkyonic phase, $n_{tr}$, and corresponding peak in the speed of sound, $v_{s, {\rm max}}^2$. At each density, the quark fraction is found by minimizing the energy density. We find that both $n_{tr}$ and $v_{s, {\rm max}}^2$ are negatively correlated with $K_0$, $n_c$, and $T_c$.

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arXiv2024

Coordinate versus momentum cuts and effects of collective flow on critical fluctuations

We analyze particle number fluctuations in the crossover region near the critical endpoint of a first-order phase transition by utilizing molecular dynamics simulations of the classical Lennard-Jones fluid. We extend our previous study [V.A. Kuznietsov et al., Phys. Rev. C 105, 044903 (2022)] by incorporating longitudinal collective flow. The scaled variance of particle number distribution inside different coordinate and momentum space acceptances is computed through ensemble averaging and found to agree with earlier results obtained using time averaging, validating the ergodic hypothesis for fluctuation observables. Presence of a sizable collective flow is found to be essential for observing large fluctuations from the critical point in momentum space acceptances. We discuss our findings in the context of heavy-ion collisions.

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arXiv2023

Molecular dynamics analysis of particle number fluctuations in the mixed phase of a first-order phase transition

Molecular dynamics simulations are performed for a finite non-relativistic system of particles with Lennard-Jones potential. We study the effect of liquid-gas mixed phase on particle number fluctuations in coordinate subspace. A metastable region of the mixed phase, the so-called nucleation region, is analyzed in terms of a non-interacting cluster model. Large fluctuations due to spinodal decomposition are observed. They arise due to the interplay between the size of the acceptance region and that of the liquid phase. These effects are studied with a simple geometric model. The model results for the scaled variance of particle number distribution are compared with those obtained from the direct molecular dynamic simulations.

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arXiv2022

Fluctuations in heavy ion collisions and global conservation effects

Subensemble is a type of statistical ensemble which is the generalization of grand canonical and canonical ensembles. The subensemble acceptance method (SAM) provides general formulas to correct the cumulants of distributions in heavy-ion collisions for the global conservation of all QCD charges. The method is applicable for an arbitrary equation of state and sufficiently large systems, such as those created in central collisions of heavy ions. The new fluctuation measures insensitive to global conservation effects are presented. The main results are illustrated in the hadron resonance gas and van der Waals fluid frameworks.

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arXiv2022

Critical point particle number fluctuations from molecular dynamics

We study fluctuations of particle number in the presence of critical point by utilizing molecular dynamics simulations of the classical Lennard-Jones fluid in a periodic box. The numerical solution of the $N$-body problem naturally incorporates all correlations, exact conservation laws, and finite size effects, allowing us to study the fluctuation signatures of the critical point in a dynamical setup. We find that large fluctuations associated with the critical point are observed when measurements are performed in coordinate subspace, but, in the absence of collective flow and expansion, are essentially washed out when momentum cuts are imposed instead. We put our findings in the context of event-by-event fluctuations in heavy-ion collisions.

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arXiv2021

Higher order conserved charge fluctuations inside the mixed phase

General formulas are presented for higher order cumulants of the conserved charge statistical fluctuations inside the mixed phase. As a particular example the van der Waals model in the grand canonical ensemble is used. The higher order measures of the conserved charge fluctuations up to the hyperkurtosis are calculated in a vicinity of the critical point (CP). The analysis includes both the mixed phase region and the pure phases on the phase diagram. It is shown that even-order fluctuation measures, e.g. scaled variance, kurtosis, and hyperkurtosis, have only positive values in the mixed phase, and go to infinity at the CP. For odd-order measures, such as skewness and hyperskewness, the regions of positive and negative values are found near the left and right binodals, respectively. The obtained results are discussed in a context of the event-by-event fluctuation measurements in heavy-ion collisions.

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arXiv2020

Connecting fluctuation measurements in heavy-ion collisions with the grand-canonical susceptibilities

We derive the relation between cumulants of a conserved charge measured in a subvolume of a thermal system and the corresponding grand-canonical susceptibilities, taking into account exact global conservation of that charge. The derivation is presented for an arbitrary equation of state, with the assumption that the subvolume is sufficiently large to be close to the thermodynamic limit. Our framework -- the subensemble acceptance method (SAM) -- quantifies the effect of global conservation laws and is an important step toward a direct comparison between cumulants of conserved charges measured in central heavy ion collisions and theoretical calculations of grand-canonical susceptibilities, such as lattice QCD. As an example, we apply our formalism to net-baryon fluctuations at vanishing baryon chemical potentials as encountered in collisions at the LHC and RHIC.

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arXiv2020

Critical point fluctuations: Finite size and global charge conservation effects

We investigate simultaneous effects of finite system size and global charge conservation on thermal fluctuations in the vicinity of a critical point. For that we consider a finite interacting system which exchanges particles with a finite reservoir (thermostat), comprising a statistical ensemble that is distinct from the common canonical and grand canonical ensembles. As a particular example the van der Waals model is used. The global charge conservation effects strongly influence the cumulants of particle number distribution when the system size is comparable to that of the reservoir. If the system size is large enough to capture all the physics associated with the interactions, the global charge conservation effects can be accurately described and corrected for analytically, within a recently developed subensemble acceptance method. The finite size effects start to play a significant role when the correlation length grows large due to proximity of the critical point or when the system is small enough to be comparable to an eigenvolume of an individual particle. We discuss our results in the context of fluctuation measurements in heavy-ion collisions.

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arXiv2020

Bose-Einstein condensation phenomenology in systems with repulsive interactions

The role of repulsive interactions in statistical systems of Bose particles is investigated. Three different phenomenological frameworks are considered: a mean field model, an excluded volume model, and a model with a medium dependent effective mass. All three models are tuned to yield similar equations of state, with only minor deviations from the ideal Bose gas at small chemical potentials. Our analysis indicates, however, that these models lead to qualitatively different results for the Bose-Einstein condensation phenomenon. We discuss the different aspects of this phenomenon, namely, an onset of the Bose-Einstein condensation, particle number fluctuations, and a behavior of the Bose condensate. The obtained results can be helpful for interpreting the lattice QCD data at small temperature and large isospin chemical potential and the data on multiple pion production in high energy nuclear collisions.

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arXiv2020

Binomial acceptance corrections for particle number distributions in high-energy reactions

The binomial acceptance correction procedure is studied for particle number distributions detected in high energy reactions in finite regions of the momentum space. We present acceptance correction formulas for scaled variance, skewness, and kurtosis. Our considerations include various specific types of particles - positively or negatively charged, baryons and antibaryons - as well as conserved charges, namely, the net baryon number and electric charge. A simple model with effects of exact charge conservation, namely the Bessel distribution, is studied in some detail where effects of multi-particle correlations are present. The accuracy of the binomial filter is studied with UrQMD model simulations of inelastic proton-proton reactions. Binomial acceptance correction procedure works well when used inside a small region of phase space as well as for certain efficiency corrections, in particular for constructing net proton fluctuation from net baryon ones. Its performance is less accurate when applied to obtain UrQMD fluctuations in a finite rapidity window from fluctuations in the full $4π$ space.

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arXiv2020

Traces of the nuclear liquid-gas phase transition in the analytic properties of hot QCD

The nuclear liquid-gas transition at normal nuclear densities, $n \sim n_0 = 0.16$ fm$^{-3}$, and small temperatures, $T \sim 20$ MeV, has a large influence on analytic properties of the QCD grand-canonical thermodynamic potential. A classical van der Waals equation is used to determine these unexpected features due to dense cold matter qualitatively. The existence of the nuclear matter critical point results in thermodynamic branch points, which are located at complex chemical potential values, for $T > T_c \simeq 20$ MeV, and exhibit a moderate model dependence up to rather large temperatures $T \lesssim 100$ MeV. The behavior at higher temperatures is studied using the van der Waals hadron resonance gas (vdW-HRG) model. The baryon-baryon interactions have a decisive influence on the QCD thermodynamics close to $μ_B = 0$. In particular, nuclear matter singularities limit the radius of convergence $r_{μ_B/T}$ of the Taylor expansion in $μ_B/T$, with $r_{μ_B/T} \sim 2-3$ values at $T \sim 140-170$ MeV obtained in the vdW-HRG model.

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arXiv2019

Equation of state of QCD matter within the Hagedorn bag-like model

The QCD equation of state at finite temperature and densities of conserved charges is considered in the framework of a Hagedorn bag-like model, incorporating both the finite sizes of hadrons as well as their exponential mass spectrum. Augmented with non-zero masses of quarks and gluons in the bag spectrum, the model yields a fair quantitative description of lattice data on thermodynamic functions, the conserved charges susceptibilities, and Fourier coefficients of net-baryon density. Both at zero and finite baryon densities a broad crossover transition between hadronic and quark-gluon matter is observed. The model thus provides a thermodynamically consistent construction of a crossover equation of state for finite baryon number, electric charge and strangeness chemical potentials, which can be used in fluid dynamical simulations of heavy-ion collisions.

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arXiv2019

Backward nucleon production by heavy baryonic resonances in proton-nucleus collisions

The production of backward nucleons, $N(180^\circ)$, at $180^\circ$ in the nuclear target rest frame in proton-nucleus ($\mathrm{p}+A$) collisions is studied. The backward nucleons appearing outside of the kinematically allowed range of proton-nucleon ($\mathrm{p}+N$) reactions are shown to be due to secondary reactions of heavy baryonic resonances produced inside the nucleus. Baryonic resonances $R$ created in primary $\mathrm{p}+N$ reactions can change their masses and momenta due to successive collisions $R+N\rightarrow R +N $ with other nuclear nucleons. Two distinct mechanisms and kinematic restrictions are studied: the reaction $R+N\rightarrow N(180^\circ)+N$ and the resonance decay $R\rightarrow N(180^\circ)+π$. Simulations of $\mathrm{p}+A$ collisions using the Ultra-relativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics model support these mechanisms and are consistent with available data on proton backward production.

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arXiv2019

The analytic structure of thermodynamic systems with repulsive interactions

Thermodynamic properties of systems with repulsive interactions, are considered in the grand canonical ensemble. The analytic structure of the excluded-volume model in the complex plane of the system chemical potential (fugacity) is elaborated, based on the fact that the pressure function can be given in terms of the Lambert W-function. Even though the excluded volume model has no phase transitions at real values of the chemical potential, it does exhibit a branch cut singularity in the complex plane, thus limiting the convergence range of the Taylor expansion in the chemical potential. Close similarities to analytic properties of the other models with repulsive interactions, such as a cluster expansion model, the mean-field model, and the ideal Fermi gas model, are pointed out. As an example, repulsive baryonic interactions in a hadron gas, with a focus on the fugacity/virial and Taylor expansion methods used in lattice QCD, are presented. The asymptotic behavior of the Fourier expansion coefficients in these various models suggests that the singular part of net baryonic density can to leading order be universally expressed in terms of polylogarithms.

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arXiv2019

Hagedorn bag-like model with a crossover transition meets lattice QCD

Thermodynamic functions, the (higher-order) fluctuations and correlations of conserved charges at $μ_B = 0$, and the Fourier coefficients of net-baryon density at imaginary $μ_B$, are considered in the framework of a Hagedorn bag-like model with a crossover transition. The qualitative behavior of these observables is found to be compatible with lattice QCD results. Fair quantitative description of the lattice data is obtained when quasiparticle-type quarks and gluons with non-zero masses are introduced into the bag spectrum. The equation of state of the model exhibits a smooth and wide crossover transition.

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