Questioning quark-gluon plasma formation in small collision systems

A recent letter published in the journal Nature reports observation at the relativistic heavy ion collider (RHIC) of quark-gluon plasma (QGP) formation in small asymmetric collision systems denoted as $p$-Au, $d$-Au and $^3$He-Au. The claimed phenomenon, described as `short-lived QGP droplets,' is inferred from a combination of Glauber Monte Carlo simulations, measurement of two azimuth Fourier amplitudes $v_2$ and $v_3$ and hydro theory calculations. While that claim follows a trend in recent years to report `signals' conventionally attributed to QGP as appearing also in smaller collision systems, the new result remains surprising in the context of expectations before first RHIC operation that small systems, e.g. $d$-Au collisions, would provide control experiments in which a QGP was unlikely to appear. An alternative interpretation of the recent RHIC result is that small-system control experiments do convey an important message: The `signals' conventionally attributed to QGP formation in larger A-A collisions do not actually represent that phenomenon in any system. The present study reviews a broad array of experimental evidence for or against QGP formation in several collision systems. It examines in particular hydro theory descriptions of spectra and correlations usually interpreted to support QGP formation. Available evidence suggests that data features conventionally attributed to QGP formation represent either minimum-bias jet production or a nonjet azimuth quadrupole with properties inconsistent with a hydro hypothesis.