A systematic search for observables associated with the critical sector of QCD is attempted in view of the progress made recently in lattice QCD regarding the existence and the location of a critical endpoint in the phase diagram of the theory. Our search is necessarily oriented towards multiparticle dynamics in collisions of nuclei and in particular towards the \sigma -mode in multipion production where critical fluctuations are expected to occur. The predictions of critical QCD are incorporated in a Monte Carlo simulation of critical events and the domain in the vicinity of the endpoint, where critical fluctuations prevail, is examined on the basis of the Ginzburg criterion. The relevance of our results for measurements in the experiments with nuclei is also discussed.

PACS numbers: 25.75.Nq, 12.38.Mh