arXiv subjects

N. G. Antoniou

Publications and source records attributed to N. G. Antoniou.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2004

Quark-Hadron Critical Point consistent with Bootstrap and Lattice QCD

The critical sector of strong interactions at high temperatures is explored in the frame of two complementary paradigms: Statistical Bootstrap for the hadronic phase and Lattice QCD for the Quark-Gluon partition function. A region of thermodynamic instability of hadronic matter was found, as a direct prediction of Statistical Bootstrap. As a result, critical end point solutions for nonzero chemical potential were traced in the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter, consistently with chiral QCD and recent lattice calculations. The relevance of these solutions for current and future experiments with nuclei at high energies is also discussed.

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arXiv2003

Non-equilibrium phenomena in the QCD phase transition

Within the context of the linear $\s$-model for two flavours, we investigate non-equilibrium phenomena that may occur during the QCD chiral phase transition in heavy-ion collisions. We assume that the chiral symmetry breaking is followed by a rapid quench so that the system falls out of thermal equilibrium. We study the mechanism for the amplification of the pion field during the oscillations of the $\s$-field towards and around its new minimum. We show that the pion spectrum develops a characteristic pronounced peak at low momenta.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

Observational Critical QCD

A detailed study of correlated scalars, produced in collisions of nuclei and associated with the $σ$-field fluctuations, $(δσ)^2= < σ^2 >$, at the QCD critical point (critical fluctuations), is performed on the basis of a critical event generator (Critical Monte-Carlo) developed in our previous work. The aim of this analysis is to reveal suitable observables of critical QCD in the multiparticle environment of simulated events and select appropriate signatures of the critical point, associated with new and strong effects in nuclear collisions.

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arXiv2003

Bootstraping the QCD Critical Point

It is shown that hadronic matter formed at high temperatures, according to the prescription of the statistical bootstrap principle, develops a critical point at nonzero baryon chemical potential. The location of the critical point in the phase diagram, however, depends on the detailed knowledge of the partition function of the deconfined phase, near the critical line. In a simplified version of the quark-gluon partition function, the resulting location of the critical point is compared with the solutions of other approaches and in particular with the results of lattice QCD. The proximity of our solution to the freeze-out area in heavy-ion experiments is also discussed.

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arXiv2001

Critical Fluctuations at RHIC

On the basis of universal scaling properties, we claim that in Au+Au collisions at RHIC, the QCD critical point is within reach. The signal turns out to be an extended plateau of net baryons in rapidity with approximate height of the net-baryon rapidity density approximately 15 and a strong intermittency pattern with index s_2=1/6 in rapidity fluctuations. A window also exists, to reach the critical point at the SPS, especially in Si+Si collisions at maximal energy.

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arXiv2001

Net-baryon scaling near the QCD critical point

The net-baryon density at midrapidity is proposed as an order parameter in the search for the QCD critical point in heavy ion collisions. As a function of the initial energy and the total number of participants, this quantity obeys a scaling law, dictated by the critical exponents of the appropriate universality class. The corresponding scaling variable specifies the proximity of a given experiment to the critical point. Within this framework, measurements at the SPS are discussed and predictions for RHIC and LHC are extracted.

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arXiv2001

Net-Baryon fluctuations at the QCD critical point

In the vicinity of the quark-hadron critical point, in the phase diagram of QCD, simple power-law relations constrain the mid-rapidity net-baryon density profile, for different heavy-ion processes, in a unifying scheme. The corresponding scaling variable specifies the proximity of a given experiment to the critical point. An important phenomenological aspect of the critical properties in the baryonic sector is the possibility to observe intermittency effects in the phase space distribution of net baryons.

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arXiv2000

Pion production from a critical QCD phase

A theoretical scheme which relates multiparticle states generated in ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions to a QCD phase transition is considered in the framework of the universality class provided by the 3-D Ising model. Two different evolution scenarios for the QGP system are examined. The statistical mechanics of the critical state is accounted for in terms of (critical) cluster formation consistent with suitably cast effective action functionals, one for each considered type of expansion. Fractal properties associated with these clusters, characterizing the density fluctuations near the QCD critical point, are determined. Monte-Carlo simulations are employed to generate events, pertaining to the total system, which correspond to signals associated with unconventional sources of pion production.

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arXiv2000

The Fractal Geometry of Critical Systems

We investigate the geometry of a critical system undergoing a second order thermal phase transition. Using a local description for the dynamics characterizing the system at the critical point T=Tc, we reveal the formation of clusters with fractal geometry, where the term cluster is used to describe regions with a nonvanishing value of the order parameter. We show that, treating the cluster as an open subsystem of the entire system, new instanton-like configurations dominate the statistical mechanics of the cluster. We study the dependence of the resulting fractal dimension on the embedding dimension and the scaling properties (isothermal critical exponent) of the system. Taking into account the finite size effects we are able to calculate the size of the critical cluster in terms of the total size of the system, the critical temperature and the effective coupling of the long wavelength interaction at the critical point. We also show that the size of the cluster has to be identified with the correlation length at criticality. Finally, within the framework of the mean field approximation, we extend our local considerations to obtain a global description of the system.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1999

Pion Fluctuations near the QCD Critical Point

A critical point of second order, belonging to the universality class of the 3d Ising model, has recently been advocated as a strong candidate for the critical behaviour (at high temperatures) of QCD with non-zero quark masses. The implications of this conjecture are investigated in the multiparticle environment of high-energy collisions. A universal intermittency pattern of pion-density fluctuations is found, at the critical point, and its association to the critical exponents is discussed. A Monte Carlo simulation of critical events, in heavy-ion collisions, reveals the detailed structure of these fluctuations, suggesting a framework of (event-by-event) measurements in which the critical theory of QCD may become falsifiable.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1998

Fractals at T=Tc due to instanton-like configurations

We investigate the geometry of the critical fluctuations for a general system undergoing a thermal second order phase transition. Adopting a generalized effective action for the local description of the fluctuations of the order parameter at the critical point ($T=T_c$) we show that instanton-like configurations, corresponding to the minima of the effective action functional, build up clusters with fractal geometry characterizing locally the critical fluctuations. The connection between the corresponding (local) fractal dimension and the critical exponents is derived. Possible extension of the local geometry of the system to a global picture is also discussed.

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arXiv1993

Criticality, Fractality and Intermittency in Strong Interactions

Assuming a second-order phase transition for the hadronization process, we attempt to associate intermittency patterns in high-energy hadronic collisions to fractal structures in configuration space and corresponding intermittency indices to the isothermal critical exponent at the transition temperature. In this approach, the most general multidimensional intermittency pattern, associated to a second-order phase transition of the strongly interacting system, is determined, and its relevance to present and future experiments is discussed.

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