We suggest that a phase transition between ordinary hadronic matter and quark matter is detectable in heavy-ion collisions by observing lepton-pair production spectra. Pair production rates are estimated on the basis of a "fireball model" of nuclear collisions. The presence of quark matter in the initial fireball should be revealed by an enhancement of the lepton-pair production rate at invariant masses between 200 and 600 MeV. Observation of lepton pairs within this mass interval is expected to serve as a sensitive diagnostic tool for probing the properties of bulk hadronic matter at high temperatures and compressions.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Domokos et al. (1981) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 3 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: