BM@N and MPD experiments at NICA

Vladimir Kekelidze,Vadim Kolesnikov,Alexander Sorin,A Mischke,P Kuijer

doi:10.1051/epjconf/201817112001

Abstract

The project NICA (Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility) aims to study hot and baryon rich QCD matter in heavy ion collisions in the energy range [see formula in PDF] = 4 − 11 GeV. The rich heavy-ion physics program will be performed at two experiments, BM@N (Baryonic Matter at Nuclotron) at beams extracted from the Nuclotron, and at MPD (Multi-Purpose Detector) at the NICA collider. This program covers a variety of phenomena in strongly interacting matter of the highest baryonic density, which includes study of collective effects, production of hyperon and hypernuclei, in-medium modification of meson properties, and event-by-event fluctuations.

Highlights

QCD shows the explicit triumph of quantum field theory after the discovery of asymptotic freedom, which makes this theory self-consistent up to the arbitrary small scale at the order of quarks and gluons
The Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility (NICA) energy domain has several intriguing features, namely: the transition from baryon dominated matter to meson dominated one; the highest net baryon density - density frontier; it covers the onset of deconfinement region having the maximum in the K+/π+ and Λ/π ratios, as well as in the Λ polarization; a hypothetical 1-st order transition and creation of the mixed phase can be accomplished by the presence of the critical endpoint within the range
Study of heavy-ion collisions within the energy range of maximum net baryonic density at the NICA collider will be performed with the Multi-Purpose Detector (MPD) detector designed as a large uniform acceptance spectrometer for detecting hadrons, electrons and gammas

Summary

Introduction

QCD shows the explicit triumph of quantum field theory after the discovery of asymptotic freedom, which makes this theory self-consistent up to the arbitrary small scale at the order of quarks and gluons. As results of model calculations [9] indicate, the yields of hypernulei in central heavy ion collisions are enhanced within the NICA energy range (see Fig. 3, left), this gives good perspectives for such kind of studies at NICA.

Results

Conclusion