Properties of hot and dense nuclear matter in a mixed phase.

The QCD phase transition is treated within a statistical model taking into account the coexistence of interacting quark-gluon and hadron phases. Being in agreement with the recent lattice QCD data, this statistical mixed phase model predicts that the 'softest point' of the equation of state, resulting in the longest-lived fireball effect, is at ε GeV/fm. It is shown that this 'softest point' is washed out at the baryon densities higher than the normal nuclear density. The approach is extended to include strangeness. Attention is drawn to the study of signatures for forming the mixed quark-hadron phase of nuclear matter in the collision energy range E ≈ 2-10 GeV/A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]