Net-baryon number fluctuations in the hybrid quark-meson-nucleon model at finite density

We study the mean-field thermodynamics and the characteristics of the net-baryon number fluctuations at the phase boundaries for the chiral and deconfinement transitions in the hybrid quark-meson-nucleon model. The chiral dynamics is described in the linear sigma model, whereas the quark confinement is manipulated by a medium-dependent modification of the particle distribution functions, where an additional scalar field is introduced. At low temperature and finite baryon density, the model predicts a first-, second-order chiral phase transition, or a crossover, depending on the expectation value of the scalar field, and a first-order deconfinement phase transition. We focus on the influence of the confinement over higher-order cumulants of the net-baryon number density. We find that the cumulants show a substantial enhancement around the chiral phase transition; they are not as sensitive to the deconfinement transition.