Equation of state and cumulants of proton multiplicity in equilibrium near critical point from Pade estimates

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Basar, Gokce, Pradeep, Maneesha, Stephanov, Mikhail
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Basar, Gokce
Pradeep, Maneesha
Stephanov, Mikhail
author_facet Basar, Gokce
Pradeep, Maneesha
Stephanov, Mikhail
contents The fluctuations of proton multiplicity in heavy-ion collisions are the key observables in the search for the QCD critical point. In this work we present an approach to constraining the cumulants of proton number based on the analytical properties of the QCD equation of state in the vicinity of the critical point. We show that, under the assumption of local equilibrium, the features of the collision energy dependence, such as the peaks and the dips of the cumulants, are significantly constrained by the data on the Lee-Yang singularity structure available via Pade resummation of the lattice QCD data. Furthermore, we identify four topologically distinct scenarios, all within the uncertainty range of the Pade estimates for the non-universal mapping parameters, classified based on the location of the critical point and the slope of the chiral crossover curve with respect to the freeze-out curve. These different scenarios result in qualitatively different critical signatures, especially for the third factorial cumulant and thus could be potentially discriminated using the experimental data.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_23635
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Equation of state and cumulants of proton multiplicity in equilibrium near critical point from Pade estimates
Basar, Gokce
Pradeep, Maneesha
Stephanov, Mikhail
Nuclear Theory
The fluctuations of proton multiplicity in heavy-ion collisions are the key observables in the search for the QCD critical point. In this work we present an approach to constraining the cumulants of proton number based on the analytical properties of the QCD equation of state in the vicinity of the critical point. We show that, under the assumption of local equilibrium, the features of the collision energy dependence, such as the peaks and the dips of the cumulants, are significantly constrained by the data on the Lee-Yang singularity structure available via Pade resummation of the lattice QCD data. Furthermore, we identify four topologically distinct scenarios, all within the uncertainty range of the Pade estimates for the non-universal mapping parameters, classified based on the location of the critical point and the slope of the chiral crossover curve with respect to the freeze-out curve. These different scenarios result in qualitatively different critical signatures, especially for the third factorial cumulant and thus could be potentially discriminated using the experimental data.
title Equation of state and cumulants of proton multiplicity in equilibrium near critical point from Pade estimates
topic Nuclear Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.23635