English

Rapidity dependence of mean transverse momentum fluctuation and decorrelation in baryon-dense medium

Nuclear Theory 2026-05-12 v2 High Energy Physics - Phenomenology Nuclear Experiment

Abstract

I study the event-by-event fluctuation and rapidity decorrelation of the mean transverse momentum \spt\spt, which has recently been proposed as a sensitive probe of the equation of state at finite baryon density. The investigation reveals that, in a baryon-rich medium, the event-by-event fluctuation of the mean transverse momentum is driven by the combined effects of energy-density and net-baryon-density fluctuations. Consequently, the rapidity dependence of this observable provides a promising handle to probe the three-dimensional structure of both energy and baryon density profiles. Previous studies have shown that \spt\spt decorrelation along rapidity is largely insensitive to shear and bulk viscosity; however, its dependence on baryon diffusion, another key transport coefficient in baryonic matter, has not been explored. I find that baryon diffusion has a negligible impact, establishing this observable as a robust probe of the equation of state. Furthermore, I present predictions for identified hadrons and observe a pronounced splitting in the rapidity decorrelation of mean transverse momentum between protons and antiprotons, indicating different transverse flow dynamics for baryons and antibaryons.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2602.16369,
  title  = {Rapidity dependence of mean transverse momentum fluctuation and decorrelation in baryon-dense medium},
  author = {Tribhuban Parida},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2602.16369},
  year   = {2026}
}

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6 figures