Quantitative coupling among σ, n, and ε near the QCD critical point

Determine the quantitative strength and functional form of the coupling among the chiral condensate σ, the baryon charge density n, and the energy density ε near the QCD critical point in a static and uniform background, in order to calibrate and constrain effective dynamical models of critical fluctuations in heavy-ion collisions.

Background

Near the QCD critical point, the normal modes arise from linear mixing among the chiral condensate σ, the baryon number density n, and the energy density ε. While this qualitative picture is established, quantitative details of their couplings are not available, motivating the use of effective models to explore dynamics and to constrain these couplings indirectly.

Pinning down these couplings would improve the fidelity of dynamical simulations of critical fluctuations and clarify the mapping between model parameters and experimentally accessible observables.