Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF)

My research work aims to study the Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) phase diagram and freeze-out dynamics of the medium created in heavy-ion collisions at RHIC. A Beam Energy Scan (BES) program has been initiated at RHIC to explore the QCD phase diagram, study the signatures of phase transition between Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) and hadronic matter, and the possible QCD critical point. The first phase of the BES program (BES-I) was completed in 2014, where Au+Au collisions were studied in the center-of-mass energy range from 7.7 to 39 GeV. This program has narrowed down the exciting regions of the phase diagram and has identified critical observables for understanding the QCD phase structure. However, several vital measurements still required better statistical precision to provide quantitative physics conclusions. Therefore, the second phase of the BES program (BES-II) with enhanced collider performance, higher statistics datasets, and upgraded detectors with better acceptance and efficiency was also carried out at RHIC. This second phase focuses on the most crucial center-of-mass energy range between 7.7 and 27 GeV in the collider mode and 3 to 7.7 GeV in the fixed target mode.

We are planning to access the high baryon density regions of the QCD phase diagram and search for the threshold of QGP formation by looking at the signatures of the QCD critical point. We are studying the transverse momentum spectra and the collective flow of identified hadrons in BES-II energies. In that direction, we have already started working on the fixed target data set from 3.2 – 7.7 GeV collected in the year 2019-2020.