https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/s10050-020-00244-3
Letter
Light-nuclei production and search for the QCD critical point
1
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-3800, USA
2
Institut für Theoretische Physik, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 1, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
* e-mail: torres-rincon@itp.uni-frankfurt.de
Received:
8
May
2020
Accepted:
7
September
2020
Published online:
29
September
2020
We discuss the potential of light-nuclei measurements in heavy-ion collisions at intermediate energies for the search of the hypothetical QCD critical end-point. A previous proposal based on neutron density fluctuations has brought appealing experimental evidences of a maximum in the ratio of the number of tritons times protons, divided over deuterons square, 
. However these results are difficult to reconcile with the state-of-the-art statistical thermal model predictions. Based on the idea that the QCD critical point can lead to a substantial attraction among nucleons, we propose new light-nuclei multiplicity ratios involving 
He in which the maximum would be more noticeable. We argue that the experimental extraction is feasible by presenting these ratios formed from actual measurements of total and differential yields at low and high collision energies from FOPI and ALICE experiments, respectively. We also illustrate the possible behavior of these ratios at intermediate energies applying a semiclassical method based on flucton paths using the preliminary NA49 and STAR data for as input.
© The Author(s), 2020
