N. Davis

Fractality in momentum space: A signal of criticality in nuclear collisions

We show that critical systems of finite size develop a fractal structure in momentum space with anomalous dimension given in terms of the isotherm critical exponent delta of the corresponding infinite system. The associated power laws of transverse momentum correlations, in high-energy nuclear collisions, provide us with a signature of a critical point in strongly interacting matter according to the laws of QCD.

Searching for the QCD critical point in AA collisions at CERN SPS

We investigate the transverse momentum correlations of pairs of opposite charged pions near their production threshold. Through intermittency analysis, we search for power-law dependence on observation scale, as dictated by critical QCD. We analyze the data on the most central collisions in four A systems (A = p, C, Si, Pb) at maximum SPS energy. We find a significant effect for the SiSi system approaching in size the critical QCD predictions as measured by the intermittency index ϕ2. Absence of this effect in the (π−, π−) sector of the SiSi system gives further support that the observed behavior in the isoscalar mode is of critical origin.