High-energy photons as a thermometer for ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions

I calculate the transverse momentum distribution for high-energy (p T =1–3 GeV) photons produced in ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions. I assume a strong first-order deconfinement phase transition, and consider transition temperatures in the range 150–200 MeV. For simplicity, I also assume thermal and chemical equilibrium throughout the collision. I then fit the transverse momentum distribution in the range 1–2 GeV to a thermal distribution. The fitting temperature depends only on the transition temperature, so this provides an accurate (although theory-dependent) measure of the QCD transition temperature.