Convergence properties of Taylor expansions of observables, which are also used in lattice QCD calculations at non-zero chemical potential, are analyzed in an effective Nf=2+1 flavor Polyakov ...quark–meson model. A recently developed algorithmic technique allows the calculation of higher-order Taylor expansion coefficients in functional approaches. This novel technique is for the first time applied to an effective Nf=2+1 flavor Polyakov quark–meson model and the findings are compared with the full model solution at finite densities. The results are used to discuss prospects for locating the QCD phase boundary and a possible critical endpoint in the phase diagram.
We study the doubly radiative decays $η^{(')}$ → $π^0γγ$ and $η^{(')}$ → $ηγγ$ in terms of vector and scalar meson exchange contributions using, respectively, the frameworks of Vector Meson Dominance ...and the Linear Sigma model. Predictions for the ${m}_{γγ}^{2}$ invariant mass distribution and branching ratios are given, and a discussion of how they compare to experimental data is carried out.
Heavy-ion collisions at $\sqrt {^SNN}$~10 GeV probe the QCD phase diagram at large baryon densities. Because the longitudinal Lorentz contraction is small at these collision energies, understanding ...the dynamics during the early phase of the collision is essential for the subsequent modeling of the system evolution and for constraining the QGP transport properties at finite baryon densities. Direct photons provide undistorted information on early-stage dynamics. We model relativistic heavy-ion collisions at RHIC Beam Energy Scan energies with a hybrid dynamical approach consisting of a 3D-Glauber initial state followed by viscous hydrodynamics and hadronic transport (MUSIC + UrQMD). The implemented thermal photon emission takes into account the enhancement from finite baryon chemical potentials. We show that direct photon spectra and their anisotropic flow coefficients have a strong sensitivity to the early stage of heavy-ion collisions. Thus, they provide constraints on QGP dynamics complementary to those obtained from hadronic observables.
In this text we review various relations between building blocks of closed and open string amplitudes at tree-level and genus one. We explain that KLT relations between tree-level closed and open ...string amplitudes follow from the holomorphic factorisation of conformal correlation functions on conformal blocks. We give a simple hands-on evaluation of the $\alpha'$-expansion of tree-level closed string amplitudes displaying the special single-valued nature of the coefficients. We show that the same techniques can be used also at genus-one, where we give a new proof of the single-valued nature of the coefficients of 2-point closed string amplitudes. We conclude by giving an overview of some open problems.