My current interest is in the extension of dilepton measurements into the low energy frontier, √sNN = 2-11 GeV, accessible at the NICA facility under construction at JINR. NICA’s mission is to study the QCD phase diagram in the high-baryon density regime, to determine the onset and the nature of the phase transition between deconfined and hadronic matter, to determine the onset of chiral symmetry restoration and to search for the conjectured critical end point in the QCD phase diagram. Dileptons are expected to play a crucial role in these studies. The Multi-Purpose Detector, MPD, designed to operate at the NICA collider, is very well suited for the measurement of dielectrons.
We are developing novel machine learning techniques to improve the electron identification and the signal-to-background ratio by effectively recognizing and rejecting the overwhelming combinatorial background originating from π0 Dalitz decays and γ conversions. Commissioning of the NICA facility is expected to start at the end of 2024 and first measurements are foreseen in 2025.