Possible Evidence for Neutral Color-Singlet $q\bar q$ Quark Matter from High-Energy Pb-Emulsion Collisions
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866915958878109696 |
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| author | Wong, Cheuk-Yin |
| author_facet | Wong, Cheuk-Yin |
| contents | The invariant mass spectrum of $e^+e^-$ pairs produced in high-energy Pb-emulsion collisions at 160 A GeV at CERN SPS exhibits a complex structure of many resonances resting on top of a broad enhancement at invariant masses below 50 MeV, with the prominent resonance at 19 $\pm$1 MeV providing independent support for the hypothetical X17 particle. We show that this complex structure may be coherently described as signatures for the neutral color-singlet $q\bar q$ quark matter in both its deconfined and confined phases. That is, the broad enhancement may arise from thermal annihilation of QED(U(1))-deconfined quarks and antiquarks into $e^+e^-$ pairs at the phase transition temperature $T_c$(QED), theoretically estimated to be 4.75 $\pm$ 1.2 MeV from the transitional equilibrium condition. The observed 3$\pm$1 and 7$\pm$1 MeV resonances may correspond to the QED(U(1))-deconfined $d\bar d$ and $u\bar u$ Coulomb bound states near their quark rest masses, respectively, whereas the observed 19 $\pm$ 1 MeV resonance may correspond to the QED(U(1))-confined isoscalar QED meson. The approximate agreement between the theoretical and the experimental spectrum suggests that both QED(U(1))-confined and QED(U(1))-deconfined neutral color-singlet $q\bar q$ quark matter may have been produced in these high-energy Pb-emulsion collisions. We propose future experiments to confirm or refute these findings. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_23473 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Possible Evidence for Neutral Color-Singlet $q\bar q$ Quark Matter from High-Energy Pb-Emulsion Collisions Wong, Cheuk-Yin High Energy Physics - Phenomenology High Energy Physics - Theory Nuclear Theory The invariant mass spectrum of $e^+e^-$ pairs produced in high-energy Pb-emulsion collisions at 160 A GeV at CERN SPS exhibits a complex structure of many resonances resting on top of a broad enhancement at invariant masses below 50 MeV, with the prominent resonance at 19 $\pm$1 MeV providing independent support for the hypothetical X17 particle. We show that this complex structure may be coherently described as signatures for the neutral color-singlet $q\bar q$ quark matter in both its deconfined and confined phases. That is, the broad enhancement may arise from thermal annihilation of QED(U(1))-deconfined quarks and antiquarks into $e^+e^-$ pairs at the phase transition temperature $T_c$(QED), theoretically estimated to be 4.75 $\pm$ 1.2 MeV from the transitional equilibrium condition. The observed 3$\pm$1 and 7$\pm$1 MeV resonances may correspond to the QED(U(1))-deconfined $d\bar d$ and $u\bar u$ Coulomb bound states near their quark rest masses, respectively, whereas the observed 19 $\pm$ 1 MeV resonance may correspond to the QED(U(1))-confined isoscalar QED meson. The approximate agreement between the theoretical and the experimental spectrum suggests that both QED(U(1))-confined and QED(U(1))-deconfined neutral color-singlet $q\bar q$ quark matter may have been produced in these high-energy Pb-emulsion collisions. We propose future experiments to confirm or refute these findings. |
| title | Possible Evidence for Neutral Color-Singlet $q\bar q$ Quark Matter from High-Energy Pb-Emulsion Collisions |
| topic | High Energy Physics - Phenomenology High Energy Physics - Theory Nuclear Theory |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.23473 |