Gökçe Başar

The state-of-the-art theoretical formalism for a covariant description of non-Gaussian fluctuation dynamics in relativistic fluids is discussed.

We study the heavy-dense limit of QCD on the lattice with heavy quarks at high density. The effective three-dimensional theory has a sign problem which is alleviated by sign optimization where the path integration domain is deformed in complex space in a way that minimizes the phase oscillations. We simulate the theory via a hybrid Monte Carlo approach, for different volumes, both to leading order and next-to-next-to leading order in the hopping expansion, and show that sign optimization successfully mitigates the sign problem at large enough volumes where usual reweighting methods fail. Finally we show that there is a significant overlap between the complex manifold generated by sign optimization and the Lefschetz thimbles associated with the theory.

This White Paper presents an overview of the current status and future perspective of QCD research, based on the community inputs and scientific conclusions from the 2022 Hot and Cold QCD Town Meeting. We present the progress made in the last decade toward a deep understanding of both the fundamental structure of the sub-atomic matter of nucleon and nucleus in cold QCD, and the hot QCD matter in heavy ion collisions. We identify key questions of QCD research and plausible paths to obtaining answers to those questions in the near future, hence defining priorities of our research over the coming decades.

We study an approach to simulating the stochastic relativistic advection-diffusion equation based on the Metropolis algorithm. We show that the dissipative dynamics of the boosted fluctuating fluid can be simulated by making random transfers of charge between fluid cells, interspersed with ideal hydrodynamic time steps. The random charge transfers are accepted or rejected in a Metropolis step using the entropy as a statistical weight. This procedure reproduces the expected strains of dissipative relativistic hydrodynamics in a specific (and non-covariant) hydrodynamic frame known as the density frame. Numerical results, both with and without noise, are presented and compared to relativistic kinetics and analytical expectations. An all order resummation of the density frame gradient expansion reproduces the covariant dynamics in a specific model. In contrast to all other numerical approaches to relativistic dissipative fluids, the dissipative fluid formalism presented here is strictly first order in gradients and has no non-hydrodynamic modes. The physical naturalness and simplicity of the Metropolis algorithm, together with its convergence properties, make it a promising tool for simulating stochastic relativistic fluids in heavy ion collisions and for critical phenomena in the relativistic domain.

We analyze the trajectory of the Lee-Yang edge singularities of the QCD equation of state in the complex baryon chemical potential () plane for different values of the temperature by using the recent lattice results for the Taylor expansion coefficients up to eighth order in and various resummation techniques that blend in Pade expansions and conformal maps. By extrapolating from this information, we estimate for the location of the QCD critical point, MeV, MeV. We also estimate the crossover slope at the critical point to be and further constrain the non-universal mapping parameters between the three dimensional Ising model and QCD equations of state.

We consider nonequilibrium evolution of non-Gaussian fluctuations within relativistic hydrodynamics relevant for the QCD critical point search in heavy-ion collision experiments. We rely on the hierarchy of relaxation timescales, which emerges in the hydrodynamic regime near the critical point, to focus on the slowest mode such as the fluctuations of specific entropy, whose equilibrium magnitude, non-Gaussianity, and typical relaxation time are increasing as the critical point is approached. We derive evolution equations for the non-Gaussian correlators of this diffusive mode in an arbitrary relativistic hydrodynamic flow. We compare with the simpler case of the stochastic diffusion on a static homogeneous background and identify terms which are specific to the case of the full hydrodynamics with pressure fluctuations and flow.

It is currently understood that there are four fundamental forces in nature: gravitational, electromagnetic, weak and strong forces. The strong force governs the interactions between quarks and gluons, elementary particles whose interactions give rise to the vast majority of visible mass in the universe. The mathematical description of the strong force is provided by the non-Abelian gauge theory Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). While QCD is an exquisite theory, constructing the nucleons and nuclei from quarks, and furthermore explaining the behavior of quarks and gluons at all energies, remain to be complex and challenging problems. Such challenges, along with the desire to understand all visible matter at the most fundamental level, position the study of QCD as a central thrust of research in nuclear science. Experimental insight into the strong force can be gained using large particle accelerator facilities, which are necessary to probe the very short distance scales over which quarks and gluons interact. The Long Range Plans (LRPs) exercise of 1989 and 1996 led directly to the construction of two world-class facilities: the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at Jefferson Lab (JLab) that is focused on studying how the structure of hadrons emerges from QCD (cold QCD research), and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Lab (BNL) that aims at the discovery and study of a new state of matter, the quark-gluon plasma (QGP), at extremely high temperatures (hot QCD research). The different collision systems used to access the incredibly rich field of hot and cold QCD in the laboratory are illustrated …

It is currently understood that there are four fundamental forces in nature: gravitational, electromagnetic, weak and strong forces. The strong force governs the interactions between quarks and gluons, elementary particles whose interactions give rise to the vast majority of visible mass in the universe. The mathematical description of the strong force is provided by the non-Abelian gauge theory Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). While QCD is an exquisite theory, constructing the nucleons and nuclei from quarks, and furthermore explaining the behavior of quarks and gluons at all energies, remain to be complex and challenging problems. Such challenges, along with the desire to understand all visible matter at the most fundamental level, position the study of QCD as a central thrust of research in nuclear science. Experimental insight into the strong force can be gained using large particle accelerator facilities, which are necessary to probe the very short distance scales over which quarks and gluons interact. The Long Range Plans (LRPs) exercise of 1989 and 1996 led directly to the construction of two world-class facilities: the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at Jefferson Lab (JLab) that is focused on studying how the structure of hadrons emerges from QCD (cold QCD research), and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Lab (BNL) that aims at the discovery and study of a new state of matter, the quark-gluon plasma (QGP), at extremely high temperatures (hot QCD research). These past investments have produced major advances. Nucleons and nuclei are being studied with increasing precision …

Since the release of the 2015 Long Range Plan in Nuclear Physics, major events have occurred that reshaped our understanding of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and nuclear matter at large densities, in and out of equilibrium. The US nuclear community has an opportunity to capitalize on advances in astrophysical observations and nuclear experiments and engage in an interdisciplinary effort in the theory

We advocate for an active US participation in the international collaboration of the CBM experiment that will allow the US nuclear physics program to build on its successful exploration of the QCD phase diagram, use the expertise gained at RHIC to make complementary measurements at FAIR, and contribute to achieving the scientific goals of the beam energy scan (BES) program.

Motivated by the search for the QCD critical point, we discuss how to obtain the singular behavior of a thermodynamic system near a critical point, namely the Lee-Yang singularities, from a limited amount of local data generated in a different region of the phase diagram. We show that by using a limited number of Taylor series coefficients, it is possible to reconstruct the equation of state past the radius of convergence, in particular in the critical region. Furthermore we also show that it is possible to extend this reconstruction to go from a crossover region to the first-order transition region in the phase diagram, using a uniformizing map to pass between Riemann sheets. We illustrate these ideas via the chiral random matrix model and the Ising model.

The Monte Carlo evaluation of path integrals is one of a few general purpose methods to approach strongly coupled systems. It is used in all branches of physics, from QCD and nuclear physics to the correlated electron systems. However, many systems of great importance (dense matter inside neutron stars, the repulsive Hubbard model away from half filling, and dynamical and nonequilibrium observables) are not amenable to the Monte Carlo method as it currently stands due to the so-called sign problem. A new set of ideas recently developed to tackle the sign problem based on the complexification of field space and the Picard-Lefshetz theory accompanying it is reviewed. The mathematical ideas underpinning this approach, as well as the algorithms developed thus far, are described together with nontrivial examples where the method has already been proved successful. Directions of future work, including the …

We study one-dimensional QCD at finite quark density by using the sign optimization framework. The fermion sign problem is mitigated by deforming the path integral domain S U (3) to a complexified one M⊂ S L (3), explicitly constructed to reduce the phase fluctuations. The complexification is constructed using the angular representation of S U (3). We provide a physical explanation of the optimization procedure in terms of complex saddle points. This picture connects the sign optimization framework to the generalized Lefschetz thimbles.

In the context of the search for the QCD critical point using non-Gaussian fluctuations, we obtain the evolution equations for non-Gaussian cumulants to the leading order of the systematic expansion in the magnitude of thermal fluctuations. We develop a diagrammatic technique in which the leading order contributions are given by tree diagrams. We introduce a Wigner transform for multipoint correlators and derive the evolution equations for three-and four-point Wigner functions for the problem of nonlinear stochastic diffusion with multiplicative noise.

In the context of the search for the QCD critical point we present dynamical evolution equations for Non-Gaussian fluctuations in hydrodynamics. We introduce a novel generalization of the Wigner transform to multi-point correlators and derive the evolution equations for three-and four-point Wigner functions for the problem of nonlinear stochastic diffusion with multiplicative noise. The formalism and the results we present are very general and would pertain to problems where non-linearity and non-Gaussian fluctuations are of interest.

We introduce a new way of reconstructing the equation of state of a thermodynamic system near a second-order critical point from a finite set of Taylor coefficients computed away from the critical point. We focus on the Ising universality class (Z 2 symmetry) and show that, in the crossover region of the phase diagram, it is possible to efficiently extract the location of the nearest thermodynamic singularity, the Lee-Yang edge singularity, from which one can (i) determine the location of the critical point,(ii) constrain the nonuniversal parameters that maps the equation of state to that of the Ising model in the scaling regime, and (iii) numerically evaluate the equation of state in the vicinity of the critical point. This is done by using a combination of Padé resummation and conformal maps. We explicitly demonstrate these ideas in the celebrated Gross-Neveu model.

To describe dynamics of bulk and fluctuations near the QCD critical point we develop general relativistic fluctuation formalism for a fluid carrying baryon charge. Feedback of fluctuations modifies hydrodynamic coefficients including bulk viscosity and conductivity and introduces nonlocal and noninstantaneous terms in constitutive equations. We perform necessary ultraviolet (short-distance) renormalization to obtain cutoff-independent deterministic equations suitable for numerical implementation. We use the equations to calculate the universal nonanalytic small-frequency dependence of transport coefficients due to fluctuations (long-time tails). Focusing on the critical mode we show how this general formalism matches existing Hydro+ description of fluctuations near the QCD critical point and nontrivially extends it inside and outside of the critical region.