Scientists are on the cusp of a groundbreaking discovery, as they simulate a critical point in the phase diagram of the quark-gluon fluid. This research could shed light on the fundamental nature of the strong force and the behavior of matter at the most fundamental level.
This is he said the quark-gluon puzzle.
Quantum chromodynamics5 (QCD) is the basic theory describing strong force6,7 binding quarks and antiquarks into protons, neutrons and other particles9 quantum-chromodynamic hadrons. The phase diagram of QCD has been a subject of interest to scientists since the early days; it is similar to the familiar phase diagram of water, with its liquid-gas critical point.
The knowledge of the critical point in the QCD phase diagram, and hence of nature of the quark-gluon plasma to hadronic phase transition is relevant. And as the phase transition corresponds to the point where quarks and gluons become confined into hadrons, this is an important question to particle physicists. Understanding experimental results around this critical point demands new theoretical input, especially a hydrodynamic theory that includes density fluctuations of the fluid.
Simulating the Critical Fluid
Published in the prestigious journal Physical Review Letters, a new study by a team of researchers form an algorithm for performing simulations of a critical fluid and tested them. It is an important step forward in the quest to better understand the properties of a quark-gluon plasma and the universal critical fluctuations at the phase transition.
A complete fluid dynamic framework that models a fluctuated distribution of all of the fluid properties (pressure, velocity, baryon density and entropy density) has been constructed by the researchers. (Phys.org) —In order to study the dynamics of quark matter—the incredibly hot, dense soup that formed just after the Big Bang and from which all atomic nuclei are created—scientists have to understand a little bit about bound states such as “exotic hadrons.” This is where theoretical models come in handy.
Simulations done by the researchers have shed light on this flow of quark-gluon fluid near critical point. Understanding the nuances of how the properties of a fluid change as it approaches its critical point helps scientists interpret experiments that are designed to find this universal phase transition.
Conclusion
This work from the scientists marks a milestone in our knowledge about the quark-gluon fluid and phase diagram of its critical point. They developed a fluid dynamic framework with fluctuations that improves our access to the data and increases the comprehension of the nature of the strong force at its core. The results from this work will be important for researchers working on the phase diagram of QCD as we move forward in our pursuit, as obtaining a new experiment that can directly observe the critical point would be very significant.
