Quasi-particle perspective on critical end-point

Abstract

Within a quasi-particle model for the equation of state of strongly interacting matter for two quark flavors we include phenomenologically features of the QCD critical point and discuss its impact on the equation of state. In particular, we investigate the influence on the quark number susceptibility and the pattern of isentropic trajectories which describe the evolutionary paths of matter during the hydrodynamical expansion of a heavy-ion collision.

Nov 2006. 12 pp. Invited Talk given at Critical Point and Onset of Deconfinement, Florence, Italy, 3-6 July 2006