Spinodal decomposition in Bjorken flow

Abstract

The QCD first-order phase transition at large baryon densities is expected to proceed by spinodal decomposition. This spinodal phase is likely to leave its signatures on the experimental observables measured in heavy-ion collision experiments. Identifying these signatures requires phenomenological models integrating surface effects resulting from the phase transition into the hydrodynamical description of the expanding quark gluon plasma. We write the equations of relativistic hydrodynamics with spinodal decomposition and solve it in on a background of Bjorken flow relevant for heavy-ion collisions.