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The QCD Equation of State in Small Systems

by W. A. Horowitz, Alexander Rothkopf

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Submission summary

Authors (as registered SciPost users): William Horowitz
Submission information
Preprint Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.01422v1  (pdf)
Date submitted: 2021-09-14 08:37
Submitted by: Horowitz, William
Submitted to: SciPost Physics Proceedings
Proceedings issue: 50th International Symposium on Multiparticle Dynamics (ISMD2021)
Ontological classification
Academic field: Physics
Specialties:
  • High-Energy Physics - Theory
  • High-Energy Physics - Phenomenology
  • Nuclear Physics - Theory
Approaches: Theoretical, Phenomenological

Abstract

We present first results on just such finite system size corrections to the equation of state, trace anomaly, and speed of sound for two model systems: 1) free, massless scalar theory and 2) quenched QCD with periodic boundary conditions (PBC). We further present work-in-progress results for quenched QCD with Dirichlet boundary conditions.

Current status:
Has been resubmitted

Reports on this Submission

Report #1 by Anonymous (Referee 1) on 2022-2-16 (Invited Report)

  • Cite as: Anonymous, Report on arXiv:2109.01422v1, delivered 2022-02-16, doi: 10.21468/SciPost.Report.4441

Strengths

The structure in terms of a mix of analytic toy model and results from more realistic lattice calculations, with physical comparisons of the two is very nice, and mostly accessible.

Weaknesses

The abstract seems to start mid-paragraph! Some initial context appears to have been accidentally trimmed.

In section 2, should the "phenomenologically relevant T ∼ 400 MeV" be phenomenologically *irrelevant*, since the volume is large and the finite-size effects small? This seems to be the case for the "plates" picture, but not the others, which fit the ~10% effect in the text. This part could do with some expansion to explain the relevance of the plates/tube/box labels, and the logic being used to argue T and TxL values in A+A and p+p systems: to a non-specialist like myself, this bit is interesting but opaque.

It would be good to give more physics context to the trace-anomaly discussion and conclusion: what effect can this reduced coupling / increased speed of sound be expected to have on e.g. flow observables?

Report

A well-written contribution. I would just request a few improvements to the text (cf. the "weaknesses" field) to make it more comprehensible by non-specialists who can't follow the implicit logic or significance in some of the arguments made.

Requested changes

See three issues raised in "weaknesses"

  • validity: high
  • significance: high
  • originality: high
  • clarity: good
  • formatting: excellent
  • grammar: excellent

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