Semi-analytical calculation of the trajectory of relativistic nuclear collisions in the QCD phase diagram

Phys. Rev. C 107, 034909 (2023) We extend a semi-analytical model that includes the finite nuclear thickness to calculate the energy density $\epsilon(t)$ and conserved-charge densities including the net-baryon density $n_{\rm _B}(t)$ produced at mid-spacetime-rapidity in central Au+Au collisions. Assuming the formation of a quark-gluon plasma with an ideal gas equation of state of either quantum or Boltzmann statistics or with a lattice QCD-based equation of state, we extract the temperature $T$ and chemical potentials $\mu_{\rm _B}$, $\mu_{\rm _Q}$ and $\mu_{\rm _S}$ as functions of time. This then allows us to semi-analytically calculate the $T-\mu_{\rm _B}$ trajectory of relativistic nuclear collisions in the QCD phase diagram, which should benefit the studies of high density physics including the search for the critical end point. This model is also useful for exploring the trajectories in the more general $T-\mu_{\rm _B}-\mu_{\rm _Q}-\mu_{\rm _S}$ QCD phase space.