{
  "abstract": "Recent measurements of two-particle transverse-momentum correlations, $C_{p_T}$, in Au+Au collisions have revealed a statistically significant non-monotonic beam-energy dependence over the range $\\sqrt{s_{NN}}=3.0$--$7.7$~GeV that has been interpreted as potentially indicative of critical phenomena associated with a critical end point (CEP) in the QCD phase diagram. This interpretation is assessed in light of the absence of a controlled framework establishing $C_{p_T}$ as a quantitative proxy for the underlying critical response. The implications of this limitation are examined by considering the expected finite-size and finite-time modification of critical fluctuations, substantial non-critical dynamical contributions, the lack of demonstrated critical scaling, and the sizeable discrepancy between the CEP region inferred from the observed $C_{p_T}$ non-monotonicity and that constrained by susceptibility-based measurements and finite-size scaling analyses. Taken together, these considerations indicate that the observed $C_{p_T}$ non-monotonicity does not, by itself, establish a critical origin nor provide reliable quantitative constraints on the existence or location of a possible CEP.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.17279",
  "author_total": 1,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Roy A. Lacey"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ag2abe6n90v7m.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.17279",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "ag2abe6n90v7m",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.17279",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "hep-ex"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "hep-lat"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "nucl-ex"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "nucl-th"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3106|High-Energy Particle Collisions Research"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7213407014",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.17279",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-15",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ag2abe6n90v7m.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:21:41Z",
      "native_id": "2609.17279",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.17279"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:hep-ex",
      "subfield": "high-energy"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:nucl-ex",
      "subfield": "nuclear"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Comment on \"Non-Monotonicity of Transverse-Momentum Correlations in Au+Au Collisions at RHIC\"",
  "title_text": "Comment on \"Non-Monotonicity of Transverse-Momentum Correlations in Au+Au Collisions at RHIC\"",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:21:41Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ag2abe6n90v7m",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}