Cluster production and the chemical freeze-out in expanding hot dense matter

We discuss medium effects on light cluster production in the QCD phase diagram by relating Mott transition lines to those for chemical freeze-out. In heavy-ion collisions at highest energies provided by the LHC, light cluster abundances should follow the statistical model because of low baryon densi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: D. Blaschke, S. Liebing, G. Röpke, B. Dönigus
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-01-01
Series:Physics Letters B
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0370269324007640
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Summary:We discuss medium effects on light cluster production in the QCD phase diagram by relating Mott transition lines to those for chemical freeze-out. In heavy-ion collisions at highest energies provided by the LHC, light cluster abundances should follow the statistical model because of low baryon densities. Chemical freeze-out in this domain is correlated with the QCD crossover transition. At low energies, in the nuclear fragmentation region, where the freeze-out interferes with the liquid-gas phase transition, self-energy and Pauli blocking effects are important. We demonstrate that at intermediate energies the chemical freeze-out line correlates with the maximum mass fraction of nuclear bound states, in particular α particles. In this domain, the HADES, FAIR and NICA experiments can give new insights.
ISSN:0370-2693