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The strong force is one of the four fundamental interactions, and the theory of it is called Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). A many-body system of strongly interacting particles (QCD matter) can exist in different phases depending on temperature (T) and baryonic chemical potential (µB). The phases and transitions between them can be visualized as µB−T phase diagram. Extraction of the properties of the QCD matter, such as compressibility, viscosity and various susceptibilities, and its Equation of State (EoS) is an important aspect of the QCD matter study. In the region of near-zero baryonic chemical potential and low temperatures the QCD matter degrees of freedom are hadrons, in which quarks and gluons are confined, while at higher temperatures partonic (quarks and gluons) degrees of freedom dominate. This partonic (deconfined) state is called quark-gluon plasma (QGP) and is intensively studied at CERN and BNL. According to lattice QCD calculations at µB=0 the transition to QGP is smooth (cross-over) and takes place at T≈156 MeV. The region of the QCD phase diagram, where matter is compressed to densities of a few times normal nuclear density (µB of several hundreds MeV), is not accessible for the current lattice QCD calculations, and is a subject of intensive research. Some phenomenological models predict a first order phase transition between hadronic and partonic phases in the region of T≲100 MeV and µB≳500 MeV. Search for signs of a possible phase transition and a critical point or clarifying whether the smooth cross-over is continuing in this region are the main goals of the near future explorations of the QCD phase diagram.
In the laboratory a scan of the QCD phase diagram can be performed via heavy-ion collisions. The region of the QCD phase diagram at T≳150 MeV and µB≈0 is accessible in collisions at LHC energies (√sNN of several TeV), while the region of T≲100 MeV and µB≳500 MeV can be studied with collisions at √sNN of a few GeV. The QCD matter created in the overlap region of colliding nuclei (fireball) is rapidly expanding during the collision evolution. In the fireball there are strong temperature and pressure gradients, extreme electromagnetic fields and an exchange of angular momentum and spin between the system constituents. These effects result in various collective phenomena. Pressure gradients and the scattering of particles, together with the initial spatial anisotropy of the density distribution in the fireball, form an anisotropic flow - a momentum (azimuthal) anisotropy in the emission of produced particles. The correlation of particle spin with the angular momentum of colliding nuclei leads to a global polarization of particles. A strong initial magnetic field in the fireball results in a charge dependence and particle-antiparticle difference of flow and polarization.
Anisotropic flow is quantified by the coefficients vₙ from a Fourier decomposition of the azimuthal angle distribution of emitted particles relative to the reaction plane spanned by beam axis and impact parameter direction. The first harmonic coefficient v₁ quantifies the directed flow - preferential particle emission either along or opposite to the impact parameter direction. The v₁ is driven by pressure gradients in the fireball and thus probes the compressibility of the QCD matter. The change of the sign of v₁ at √sNN of several GeV is attributed to a softening of the EoS during the expansion, and thus can be an evidence of the first order phase transition. The global polarization coefficient PH is an average value of the hyperon’s spin projection on the direction of the angular momentum of the colliding system. It probes the dynamics of the QCD matter, such as vorticity, and can shed light on the mechanism of orbital momentum transfer into the spin of produced particles.
In collisions at √sNN of several GeV, which probe the region of the QCD phase diagram at T≲100 MeV and µB≳500 MeV, hadron production is dominated by u and d quarks. Hadrons with strange quarks are produced near the threshold, what makes their yields and dynamics sensitive to the density of the fireball. Thus measurement of flow and polarization, in particular of (multi-)strange particles, provides experimental constraints on the EoS, that allows to extract transport coefficients of the QCD matter from comparison of data with theoretical model calculations of heavy-ion collisions.
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We study equilibrium as well as out-of-equilibrium properties of the strongly interacting QGP medium under extreme conditions of high temperature T and high baryon densities or baryon chemical potentials μB within a kinetic approach. We present the thermodynamic and transport properties of the QGP close to equilibrium in the framework of effective models with Nf=3 active quark flavours such as the Polyakov extended Nambu-Jona Lasinio (PNJL) and dynamical quasiparticle model with the CEP (DQPM-CP). Considering the transport coefficients and the EoS of the QGP phase, we compare our results with various results from the literature. Furthermore, out-of equilibrium properties of the QGP medium and in particular, the effect of a μB- dependence of thermodynamic and transport properties of the QGP are studied within the Parton-Hadron-String-Dynamics (PHSD) transport approach, which covers the full evolution of the system during HICs. We find that bulk observables and flow coefficients for strange hadrons as well as for antiprotons are more sensitive to the properties of the QGP, in particular to the μB - dependence of the QGP interactions.
Presolar grain isotopic ratios as constraints to nuclear physics inputs for s-process calculations
(2023)
The isotopic abundances in presolar SiC grains of AGB origin provide important and precise constraints to those star nucleosynthesis models. By comparing the values of the s-element abundances resulting from calculations with the ones measured in these dust grains, it turns out that new measurements of weak-interaction rates in ionized plasmas, as well as of neutron-capture cross sections, are needed, especially in the region near the neutron magic numbers 50 and 82.
Results on proton and Λ flow, calculated with the UrQMD model that incorporates different realistic density dependent equations of state, are presented. It is shown that the proton and hyperon flow shows sensitivity to the equation of state and especially to the appearance of a phase transition at densities below 4n0. Even though qualitatively hyperons and protons exhibit the same beam energy dependence of the flow, the quantitative results are different. In this context it is suggested that the hyperon measurements can be used to study the density dependence of the hyperon interaction in high density QCD matter.
We introduce a novel technique that utilizes a physics-driven deep learning method to reconstruct the dense matter equation of state from neutron star observables, particularly the masses and radii. The proposed framework involves two neural networks: one to optimize the EoS using Automatic Differentiation in the unsupervised learning scheme; and a pre-trained network to solve the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff (TOV) equations. The gradient-based optimization process incorporates a Bayesian picture into the proposed framework. The reconstructed EoS is proven to be consistent with the results from conventional methods. Furthermore, the resulting tidal deformation is in agreement with the limits obtained from the gravitational wave event, GW170817.
A single wavelength heterodyne interferometer has been set up to investigate the free electron density integrated axially along the line of sight (line density) in a theta-pinch plasma to determine its applicability as a plasma target for ion beam stripping. The maximal line density reached in this experiment was (3.57 ± 0.28) × 1018 cm−2 at 80 Pa and 20 kV. The findings demonstrate the pulsed character of the line density and its increase by raising the load voltage and the working gas pressure. Additionally, the results were compared with spectroscopic free electron density estimations, which were carried out by Hβ -line broadening and peak separation. The time behavior of the line density indicates that its peak value is delayed by about 10 μs compared to the spectroscopic results. This effect is due to the formation of an extended, magnetically compressed plasma column in the vicinity of the current maximum, although the highest volumetric free electron density is reached near the current zero crossing. Since the line density is an essential parameter in describing the stripping capabilities of the plasma target, the interferometric diagnostic is superior to a spectroscopic diagnostic, because it directly provides integrated values along the line of sight. Furthermore, the measurements of the line density in this experiment partially show nonphysical negative values, which is due to gaseous effects and residual shot vibrations.
This thesis aims to investigate the properties of hadronic matter by analyzing fluctuations of conserved charges. A transport model (SMASH) is used for these studies to achieve this. The first part of this thesis focuses on examining transport coefficients, specifically the diffusion coefficients of conserved charges and the shear viscosity. The second part investigates equal-time correlations of particle numbers in the form of cumulants. The last chapter studies different aspects of the isobar collision systems Ru and Zr.
As a first step, the hadronic medium and interactions between its constituents are introduced, and simultaneously, their impact on transport coefficients is investigated. The methodology is verified by comparing the results of SMASH with Chapman-Enskog calculations, followed by examining 3-to-1 multi-particle reactions, revealing their influence on shear viscosity and electrical diffusion. The analysis of the full hadron gas considers angle-dependent cross-sections and additional elastic cross-sections via the AQM description, showing significant impacts on transport coefficients. The dependency on the number of degrees of freedom is explored, with noticeable effects on diffusion coefficients but a smaller influence on the shear viscosity. At non-zero baryon chemical potential, the diffusion coefficients are strongly influenced, while the shear viscosity remains unaffected. Overall, the study underscores the importance of individual cross-sections and the modeling of interactions on transport coefficients.
The following chapter explores fluctuations of conserved charges, crucial for understanding phase transitions in heavy-ion collision from the quark-gluon plasma to the hadronic phase. Using SMASH, the impact of global charge conservation on particle number cumulants in subvolumes of boxes simulating infinite matter is studied. Comparisons with simpler systems highlights the influence of hadronic interactions on cumulants, especially via charge annihilation processes and the results from SMASH shows agreement with analytical calculations. Calculations at finite baryon chemical potential reveals a transition from a Poisson to Skellam distribution within the net proton cumulants. It is shown that an unfolding procedure to obtain the net baryon fluctuations from the net proton ones deviates from the actual net baryon result, particularly in larger volumes. Finally, net proton correlations at vanishing baryon chemical potential align with ALICE measurements and the net proton cumulants are unaffected by deuteron formation.
In the next step, the goal is to investigate critical fluctuations in the hadronic medium. Therefore, the hadronic system is initialized with critical equilibrium fluctuations by coupling the hadron resonance gas with the 3D Ising model. The single-particle probability distributions are derived from the principle of maximum entropy. Evolving these distributions in SMASH, their development in an expanding sphere adjusted to experimental conditions can be analyzed. It reveals resonance decay and formations as the primary source that affects the particle cumulants. Because of isospin randomization processes, critical fluctuations are better preserved in net nucleon numbers. However, for the strongest coupling investigated in this work, correlations of the critical field are still present in the final state of the evolution in the net proton fluctuations. Examining cumulant dependence on rapidity windows shows a non-monotonic trend.
In the third part, collisions involving the isobars Ru and Zr are studied at a center-of-mass energy of 200 GeV. Initially, SMASH is used to study the initial conditions to hydrodynamical simulations, emphasizing the importance of the nuclear structure of isobars on the geometry of the collision area. It is found that the deformation parameters notably influence the initial state. Correlations between nucleon-nucleon pairs on eccentricity fluctuations yield no significant effect. Subsequently, the hydrodynamic model vHLLE evolves the previously explored initial conditions and for the transition between the hydrodynamic and kinetic descriptions, the Cooper-Frye formula is used. Usage of the canonical ensemble ensures the exact conservation of the conserved charges B, Q, and S. The neutron skin effect, which changes the charge distribution within Ru nuclei, is additionally considered. Fluctuations are assessed, revealing suppression in large rapidity windows due to global charge conservation. The hadronic phase modifies fluctuations of net pions, net kaons, and net protons via annihilation processes, yet fluctuations remain unaffected by the neutron skin effect.
The equation of state (EoS) of matter at extremely high temperatures and densities is currently not fully understood, and remains a major challenge in the field of nuclear physics. Neutron stars harbor such extreme conditions and therefore serve as celestial laboratories for constraining the dense matter EoS. In this thesis, we present a novel algorithm that utilizes the idea of Bayesian analysis and the computational efficiency of neural networks to reconstruct the dense matter equation of state from mass-radius observations of neutron stars. We show that the results are compatible with those from earlier works based on conventional methods, and are in agreement with the limits on tidal deformabilities obtained from the gravitational wave event, GW170817. We also observe that the resulting squared speed of sound from the reconstructed EoS features a peak, indicating a likely convergence to the conformal limit at asymptotic densities, as expected from quantum chromodynamics. The novel algorithm can also be applied across various fields faced with computational challenges in solving inverse problems. We further examine the efficiency of deep learning methods for analyzing gravitational waves from compact binary coalescences in this thesis. In particular, we develop a deep learning classifier to segregate simulated gravitational wave data into three classes: signals from binary black hole mergers, signals from binary neutron star mergers, or white noise without any signals. A second deep learning algorithm allows for the regression of chirp mass and combined tidal deformability from simulated binary neutron star mergers. An accurate estimation of these parameters is crucial to constrain the underlying EoS. Lastly, we explore the effects of finite temperatures on the binary neutron star merger remnant from GW170817. Isentropic EoSs are used to infer the frequencies of the rigidly rotating remnant and are noted to be significantly lower compared to previous estimates from zero temperature EoSs. Overall, this thesis presents novel deep learning methods to constrain the neutron star EoS, which will prove useful in future, as more observational data is expected in the upcoming years.
The appearance of strangeness in the form of hyperons within the inner core of neutron stars is expected to affect its detectable properties, such as its global structure or gravitational wave emission. This work explores the parameter space of hyperonic stars within the framework of the Relativistic Mean Field model allowed by the present uncertainties in the state-of-the-art nuclear and hypernuclear experimental data. We impose multi-physics constraints at different density regimes to restrict the parameter space: Chiral effective field theory, heavy-ion collision data, and multi-messenger astrophysical observations of neutron stars. We investigate possible correlations between empirical nuclear and hypernuclear parameters, particularly the symmetry energy and its slope, with observable properties of neutron stars. We do not find a correlation for the hyperon parameters and the astrophysical data. However, the inclusion of hyperons generates a tension between the astrophysical and heavy-ion data constraining considerably the available parameter space.
We investigate the role of the Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP) for light nuclei, at the examples of 12C and 16O. We show that ignoring the PEP does lead not only to a too dense spectrum at low energy but also to a wrong grouping into bands. Using a geometrical mapping, a triangular structure for 12C and a tetrahedral structure in 16O in the ground state is obtained by using the indistinguishably of the α-particles.