1. Joint Institute for Nuclear Research International Intergovernmental Organization Progress towards the NICA White Paper

2. http://theor.jinr.ru/twiki-cgi/view/NICA/WebHome Editorial board: D. Blaschke D. Kharzeev V. Matveev A. Sorin H.Stoecker O. Teryaev I. Tserruya N. Xu

4. NICA White Paper SEARCHING for a QCD MIXED PHASE at the NUCLOTRON-BASED ION COLLIDER FACILITY NUCLOTRON-BASED ION COLLIDER FACILITY Phases of dense QCD matter and conditions for Phases of dense QCD matter and conditions for their possible realization their possible realization Characteristic processes as indicators of phase Characteristic processes as indicators of phase transformations transformations Estimates of various observables for events Estimates of various observables for events Comparison to other experiments Comparison to other experiments The final goal of the NICA White Paper is to address the following key topics:

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6. The NICA White Paper JINR Dubna Lebedev Institute, Russia Kurchatov Institute, Russia St.Petersburg SU, Russia ITEP, Russia LBNL, USA Ohio SU, USA University of Illinois, USA BNL, USA INR, Russia University of Barselona, Spain University of Florence, Italy University of Cape Town, South Africa INFN, Italy University of Giessen, Germany Lanzhou National Laboratory of Heavy Ion Accelerator, China Beijing Institute of High Energy Physics, China Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, India Jan Kochanovski University, Poland University of Frankfurt, Germany University of Coimbra, Portugal Wayne SU, USA BITP, Ukraine Tel Aviv University, Israel Weizmann Institute, Israel University of Catania, Italy Mateja Bela University, Slovakia Institute of Applied Science, Moldova GSI Darmstadt, Germany MEPhI, Russia 69 scientific centers 25 Countries (8 JINR members)‏ in University of Oslo, Norway INP MSU, Russia University of Bielefeld, Germany 148 authors from http://theor.jinr.ru/twiki-cgi/view/NICA/WebHome Tsinghua University, Beijing, China SISSA, Italy University of Trento, Italy Arizona State University, USA Wroclaw University, Poland Los Alamos National Laborator IHEP, Russia Rio de Janeiro University, Brazil YITP Kyoto, Japan Osaka University, Japan Lulea Technical University, Sweden Columbia University, USA FIAS Frankfurt, Germany San Diego State University, USA SUBATECH, University de Nantes, France Hefei University, China Wuhan University, China University of Bergen, Norway Indiana University, USA + Scientific centers from Argentina, Austria, Egypt, Sultanate of Oman (for more detail data see the NICA White Paper)

7. (83 contributions = 75 + 8, additional 10%)‏ Foreword to the seventh Edition 1 Editorial (2) 2 General aspects (6 + 1)‏ 3 Phases of QCD matter at high baryon density (11 + 2)‏ 4 Hydrodynamics and hadronic observables (15 + 3)‏ 5 Femtoscopy, correlations and fluctuations (8 + 1)‏ 6 Mechanisms of multi-particle production (7 )‏ 7 Electromagnetic probes and chiral symmetry in dense QCD matter (7)‏ 8 Local P and CP violation in hot QCD matter (7+ 1)‏ 8 Cumulative processes (2)‏ 10 Polarization e ff ects and spin physics (4)‏ 11 Related topics (3)‏ 12 Fixed Target Experiments (6)‏ List of Contributors NICA White Paper - Contents

8. New Contributions to the NICA White Paper, Draft v 7.01 (last update: 20.06.12)‏ http://theor.jinr.ru/twiki-cgi/view/NICA/WebHome Section 2: General aspects 2.7 Hadron Physics at the Charm and Bottom Thresholds and Other Novel QCD Physics Topics at the NICA Accelerator Facility S. J. Brodsky Section 3: Phases of QCD matter at high baryon density 3.12 Physics at Large Baryon Density A. Tawfik 3.13 Lattice QCD constrained CEP prediction in nonlocal PNJL models G. A. Contrera, A. G. Grunfeld, D. Blaschke Section 4: Hydrodynamics and hadronic observables 4.16 Importance of clusters for flow measurements at NICA P. Danielewicz, T. Klaehn, W. Reisdorf, D. Blaschke 4.17 Baryon stopping probes deconfinement G. Wolschin 4.18 Can NICA verify BES? D. Parganlija Section 5: Femtoscopy, correlations and fluctuations 5.9 Baryon number cumulants in relativistic heavy ion collisions M. Kitazawa, M. Asakawa Section 8: Local P and CP violation in hot QCD matter‏ 8.8 Exploring Dense and Cold QCD Phases in a Magnetic Field V. de la Incera, E. J. Ferrer

9. 1.1 Physical phenomena and relevant observables: in-medium modification of hadron properties (MMH) the nuclear matter equation of state (EoS) the onset of deconfinement (OD) and/or chiral symmetry restoration (CSR) signals of a phase transition (PT) the mixed phase and the critical end-point (CEP) possible local parity violation in strong interactions (LPV) Section 1: Editorial The correlations between observables and physical phenomena: 4.16, 4.18

10. 2.7 Hadron Physics at the Charm and Bottom Thresholds and Other Novel QCD PhysicsTopics at the NICA Accelerator Facility S. J. Brodsky (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA) Proposal: a number of novel hadron physics processes which can be investigated at the NICA collider: formation of exotic heavy quark resonances near the charm and bottom thresholds, intrinsic strangeness, charm, and bottom phenomena, hidden-color degrees of freedom in nuclei, color transparency, single-spin asymmetries, the RHIC baryon anomaly, and non-universal antishadowing.

11. 4.17 Baryon stopping probes deconfinement G. Wolschin (ITP, Heidelberg Uni, Germany) Problem: Stopping and baryon transport in central relativistic Pb + Pb and Au + Au collisions are reconsidered with the aim to find indications for deconfinement. At energies reached at the CERN SPS (\sqrt(sNN )= 6.3 - 17.3 GeV) and at RHIC (62.4 GeV) the fragmentation-peak positions as obtained from the data depend linearly on the beam rapidity and are in agreement with earlier results from a QCD- based approach that accounts for gluon saturation. No discontinuities in the net- proton fragmentation peak positions occur in the expected deconfinement region at 6 - 10 GeV. In contrast, the mean rapidity loss depends linearly on the beam rapidity only at high energies beyond the RHIC scale. Proposal: the combination of both results offers a clue for the transition from hard partonic to soft hadronic processes in baryon stopping. NICA results could corroborate these findings.

12. 4.18 Can NICA verify BES? D. Parganlija (ITP, Vienna University of Technology, Austria) Problem: Recent years have seen a lot of activity with regard to scalar-meson spectroscopy by the BES and BES II Collaborations. A new scalar resonance is claimed to have been found by BES – but no subsequent experiments have been performed to approve (or disprove) this claim. Proposal: The NICA Project could reconstruct scalar resonances in the energy region between 1.7 GeV and 1.8 GeV thus either verifying or disproving BES results regarding f0(1790). Additionally, the issue of mass scaling for the (axial-)vector mesons and also of chiral transition is one of the still-unresolved problems in QCD. The NICA Project may give valuable experimental information also in this regard. Known scalar isoscalar resonances: f0(600), f0(980), f0(1370), f0(1500), f0(1710). Claims have been made that the new one f0(1790) – a state very close to f0(1710) but with a different decay behaviour: f0(1790) decays predominantly into pions whereas f0(1710) decays predominantly into kaons. There are two established spin-one resonances in the non-strange meson channel: ro(770) and a1(1260). Their features are rather well known in vacuum, especially for the case of ro(770), but it is as yet not clear if (and how) their masses change in medium.

13. 5.9 Baryon number cumulants in relativistic heavy ion collisions M. Kitazawa, M. Asakawa (Osaka University, Japan) Fluctuation observables, especially the baryon number cumulants, are invaluable tools to diagnose the primordial stage of heavy ion collisions. In experiments, however, the baryon number is not a direct observable. It is shown that the isospin distribution of nucleons at kinetic freezeout is binomial and factorized. This leads to formulae for \sqrt (s_NN) >= 10GeV that express the baryon number cumulants solely in terms of proton number fluctuations, which are experimentally observable.

14. New WP contributions in preparation: 1. Vorticity in heavy ion collisions M. Baznat, K.K. Gudima, A.S. Sorin, O.V. Teryaev 4. Boundary between Hadron and Quark/Gluon Structure of Nuclei H.J. Pirner and J. P. Vary 5. Precursor effects of color superconductivity in electromagnetic signals T. Kunihiro and M. Kitazawa

15. Round Table Discussions on NICA@JINR Round Table Discussion I: Searching for the mixed phase of strongly interacting matter at the JINR Nuclotron, July 7 - 9, 2005 http://theor.jinr.ru/meetings/2005/roundtable/ Round Table Discussion II: Searching for the mixed phase of strongly interacting matter at the JINR Nuclotron: Nuclotron facility development JINR, Dubna, October 6 - 7, 2006 http://theor.jinr.ru/meetings/2006/roundtable/ Round Table Discussion III: Searching for the mixed phase of strongly interacting QCD matter at the NICA: Physics at NICA JINR (Dubna), November 5 - 6, 2008, http://theor.jinr.ru/meetings/2008/roundtable/ Round Table Discussion IV: Searching for the mixed phase of strongly interacting QCD matter at the NICA: Physics at NICA (White Paper) ‏ JINR (Dubna), September 9 - 12, 2009 http://theor.jinr.ru/meetings/2009/roundtable/ Round Table Discussion V: Searching for the mixed phase of strongly interacting QCD matter at the NICA: Physics at NICA (White Paper)‏ JINR (Dubna), August 28, 2010 http://theor.jinr.ru/~cpod/Dubna_2010_program2.htm

16. NICA/JINR-FAIR Bilateral Workshop Matter at Highest Baryon Densities in the Laboratory and in Space Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, April 2 - 4, 2012 http://theor.jinr.ru/~nica_fair/ Topics: - Phases of QCD at high baryon densities - Effects signalling phase transitions - Observables in heavy-ion collisions and in astrophysics - Simulations of ion collisions and supernovae Aims: - identify discovery potential of Nuclotron-NICA and FAIR in the canon of current and future HIC experiments - chiral symmetry restoration - onset of deconfinement - in-medium modification of hadron properties - color superconductivity, multiquark states, etc. Results: - Most promising and feasible suggestions for experiments at Nuclotron-NICA and CBM/FAIR - Priorities for detectors and formation of international collaborations * German-Russian Year of Science 2011/2012

17. The White Paper demonstrates the unique physics potential of the NICA/MPD Complex. Broad international resonance to the NICA White Paper is an important step towards an international collaboration for the creation of the NICA/MPD and BM@N experiments. Physics in the NICA energy range is rich and attractive! Conclusion

18. Thank you for attention!