Extracting the Speed of Sound in Heavy-Ion Collisions: A Study of Quantum-Initiated Fluctuations and Thermalization
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866915499874451456 |
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| author | Mu, Yu-Shan Sun, Jing-An Yan, Li Huang, Xu-Guang |
| author_facet | Mu, Yu-Shan Sun, Jing-An Yan, Li Huang, Xu-Guang |
| contents | The thermalization of quark-gluon plasma created in heavy-ion collisions is crucial for understanding its behavior as a relativistic fluid and the thermodynamic properties of the Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). This study investigates the role of fluctuations in the relationship between transverse momentum and particle multiplicity, with a particular focus on their impact on extracting the QCD speed of sound. In a thermalized quark-gluon plasma, these fluctuations mostly originate from quantum fluctuations in the colliding nuclei, and exhibit a Gaussian distribution as a consequence of their independence from thermodynamic response. In contrast, non-thermalized systems display non-Gaussian fluctuations, reflecting the breakdown of thermalization. By leveraging the Gaussianity condition of quantum-initiated fluctuations, the physical value of the speed of sound can be extracted statistically, even in the presence of significant event-by-event fluctuations. This framework provides a robust diagnostic tool for probing thermalization and extracting thermodynamic properties in both large and small collision systems. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_02777 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Extracting the Speed of Sound in Heavy-Ion Collisions: A Study of Quantum-Initiated Fluctuations and Thermalization Mu, Yu-Shan Sun, Jing-An Yan, Li Huang, Xu-Guang Nuclear Theory High Energy Physics - Phenomenology Nuclear Experiment The thermalization of quark-gluon plasma created in heavy-ion collisions is crucial for understanding its behavior as a relativistic fluid and the thermodynamic properties of the Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). This study investigates the role of fluctuations in the relationship between transverse momentum and particle multiplicity, with a particular focus on their impact on extracting the QCD speed of sound. In a thermalized quark-gluon plasma, these fluctuations mostly originate from quantum fluctuations in the colliding nuclei, and exhibit a Gaussian distribution as a consequence of their independence from thermodynamic response. In contrast, non-thermalized systems display non-Gaussian fluctuations, reflecting the breakdown of thermalization. By leveraging the Gaussianity condition of quantum-initiated fluctuations, the physical value of the speed of sound can be extracted statistically, even in the presence of significant event-by-event fluctuations. This framework provides a robust diagnostic tool for probing thermalization and extracting thermodynamic properties in both large and small collision systems. |
| title | Extracting the Speed of Sound in Heavy-Ion Collisions: A Study of Quantum-Initiated Fluctuations and Thermalization |
| topic | Nuclear Theory High Energy Physics - Phenomenology Nuclear Experiment |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.02777 |