RHIC gold-ion collision data show a dip in particle momentum fluctuations
Brookhaven National Laboratory reports that STAR researchers found the dip near RHIC’s lowest collision energies, which create its densest nuclear matter. It could hint at a change in how nuclear matter switches phases, but its cause remains unclear.
TLDR
Brookhaven National Laboratory reports that the dip departed from a smooth trend by about 5 sigma. It could signal a hypothesized critical point where the behavior of a nuclear-matter phase transition changes, but the STAR team says it is not proof. Scientific American reports that a changing mix of particles produced by the collisions could also explain the result.
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