Phase transitions in quark matter and behaviour of physical observables in the vicinity of the critical end point

We study the chiral phase transition at finite T and μ _B within the framework of the SU(3) Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model. The QCD critical end point (CEP) and the critical line at finite temperature and baryonic chemical potential are investigated: the study of physical quantities, such as the baryon number susceptibility near the CEP, will provide complementary information concerning the order of the phase transition. We also analyze the information provided by the study of the critical exponents around the CEP.     

Quark matter formation in dense stellar objects

It is expected that at very large densities and/or temperatures a quark-hadron phase transition takes place. Lattice QCD calculations at zero baryon density indicate that the transition occurs at T _c ∼ 150–170 MeV. The transition is likely to be second order or a cross over phenomenon. Although not much is known about the density at which the phase transition takes place at small temperatures, it is expected to occur around the nuclear densities of few times nuclear matter density. Also, there is a strong reason to believe that the quark matter formed after the phase transition is in colour superconducting phase. The matter densities in the interior of neutron stars being larger than the nuclear matter density, the neutron star cores may possibly consist of quark matter which may be formed during the collapse of supernova. Starting with the assumption that the quark matter, when formed consists of predominantly u and d quarks, we consider the evolution of s quarks by weak interactions in the present work. The reaction rates and time required to reach the chemical equilibrium are computed here. Our calculations show that the chemical equilibrium is reached in about 10⁻⁷ seconds. Further more during the equilibration process enormous amont of energy is released and copious numbers of neutrinos are produced. Implications of these on the evolution of supernovae will be discussed.     

Quark potential in a quark–meson plasma

We investigate the effect of the restoration of chiral symmetry on the quark potential in a quark–meson plasma by considering meson exchanges in the two flavor Nambu–Jona-Lasinio model at finite temperature and density. There are two possible oscillations in the chiral restoration phase; one is the Friedel oscillation due to the sharp quark Fermi surface at high density, and the other is the Yukawa oscillation driven by the complex meson poles at high temperature. The quark–meson plasma is strongly coupled in the temperature region 1≤T/T _c≤3, with T _c being the critical temperature of the chiral phase transition. The maximum coupling in this region is located at the phase transition point.     

Selected studies of magnetism at high pressure

Summary Most previous studies of magnetism in various compounds under extreme conditions have been conducted over a wide pressure range at room temperature or over a wide range of cryogenic temperatures at pressures below 20 GPa (200 kbar). We present some of the most recent studies of magnetism over an extended range of temperatures and pressures far beyond 20 GPa,i.e. in regions of pressure-temperature (P-T) space where magnetism has been largely unexplored. Recent techniques have permitted investigations of magnetism in selected 3d transition metal compounds in regions ofP-T where physical properties may be drastically modified; related effects have often been seen in selected doping studies at ambient pressures. We present⁵⁷Fe and¹²⁹I M?ssbauer isotope studies covering the range 300–4 K to sub-megabar pressures in compounds such as Sr₂FeO₄, LaFeO₃ and FeI₂, representative of a broad class of 3d transition metal compounds. At ambient pressure the electronic structure of the transition metal atom in these antiferromagnetic insulators extends from 3d ⁴ to 3d ⁶ and has a distinct influence on the pressure evolution of their magnetic properties. M?ssbauer studies of these compounds are considered in conjunction with available structural and electrical transport data at pressure. Paper presented at ICAME-95, Rimini, 10–16 September 1995.     

Baryogenesis via density fluctuations with a second-order electroweak phase transition

We consider the presence of cosmic string-induced density fluctuations in the early universe at temperatures below the electroweak phase transition temperature. Resulting temperature fluctuations can restore the electroweak symmetry locally, depending on the amplitude of fluctuations and the background temperature. The symmetry will be spontaneously broken again in a given region as the temperature drops there (for fluctuations with length scales smaller than the horizon), resulting in the production of baryon asymmetry. The time-scale of the transition will be governed by the wavelength of fluctuation and, hence, can be much smaller than the Hubble time. This leads to strong enhancement in the production of baryon asymmetry for a second-order electroweak phase transition as compared to the case when transition happens due to the cooling of the universe via expansion. For a two-Higgs doublet model (with appropriate CP violation), we show that one can get the required baryon asymmetry if fluctuations propagate without getting significantly damped. If fluctuations are damped rapidly, then a volume factor suppresses the baryon production, though it is still 3–4 orders of magnitude larger than the conventional case of second-order transition.     

Refractive indices of K<Subscript>2</Subscript>ZnCl<Subscript>4</Subscript> crystals in an incommensurate phase under uniaxial stresses

The influence of uniaxial mechanical stresses directed along the principal crystallophysical axes on refractiveindex temperature dependences in K₂ZnCl₄ crystals was studied. It is established that the refractive indices ni are quite sensitive to uniaxial stresses. Significant baric shifts of the paraphase–incommensurate–commensurate phase transition points to different temperature regions were observed, which is due to the effect of the uniaxial stress on the K₂ZnCl₄ crystal structure. It is found that applying uniaxial pressure increases the value of the temperature hysteresis of the commensurate–incommensurate phase transition.     

Thermodynamics and phase transition of the Reissner–Nordstr?m black hole surrounded by quintessence

We investigate thermodynamics and phase transition of the Reissner–Nordstr?m black hole surrounded by quintessence. Using thermodynamical laws of black holes, we derive the expressions of some thermodynamics quantities for the Reissner–Nordstr?m black hole surrounded by quintessence. The variations of the temperature and heat capacity with the entropy were plotted for different values of the state parameter related to the quintessence, ω _q , and the normalization constant related to the density of quintessence c. We show that when varying the entropy of the black hole a phase transition is observed in the black hole. Moreover, when increasing the density of quintessence, the transition point is shifted to lower entropy and the temperature of the black hole decreases.     

Large momenta fluctuations of charm quarks in the Quark-Gluon Plasma<Superscript>⋆</Superscript>

We show that large fluctuations of D-mesons kinetic-energy (or momentum) distributions might be a signature of a phase transition to the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP). In particular, a jump in the variance of the momenta or kinetic energy, as a function of a control parameter (temperature or Fermi energy at finite baryon densities) might be a signature for a first-order phase transition to the QGP. This behavior is completely consistent with the order parameter defined for a system of interacting quarks both at zero temperature (and finite baryon densities) or at finite temperatures which shows a jump in correspondence with a first-order phase transition to the QGP. The J/Ψ displays exactly the same behavior of the order parameter and of the variance of the D-mesons. We discuss implications for relativistic heavy-ion collisions within the framework of a transport model and possible hints for experimental search.     

Superconductivity in the Ti-D system under pressure

The pressure dependence of the superconducting transition temperature in TiD_0.74 has been measured up to 30 GPa in a diamond high-pressure chamber. It is found that the deuteride TiD_0.74 becomes a superconductor at pressures corresponding to the transition to the high-pressure ζ phase, with a transition temperature that increases from 4.17 to 4.43 K in the interval P=14–30 GPa. The value extrapolated to atmospheric pressure T _c (0)=4.0 K is significantly lower than the superconducting transition temperature (T _c =5.0 K) measured earlier in the metastable state obtained by quenching TiD_0.74 under pressure. It is assumed that the significant difference of the extrapolated value from the superconducting transition temperature in the metastable state after quenching under pressure is caused by a phase transition on the path from the stability region of the ζ phase under pressure to the region of the metastable state at atmospheric pressure. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 2153–2155 (December 1998)     

Low-temperature metal-insuslator transition and magnetic properties in the VxMn1−x S disordered system

A study of the structure and electrical and magnetic properties of the V_xMn_1−x S disordered system is reported. The existence of a low-temperature metal-insulator transition for Fermi-glass 0.4<x<0.5 compositions in paramagnetic phase, which is accompanied by a change in the structure and magnetic properties, has been established. An analysis of the magnetic properties permits a conjecture that current carriers become delocalized in these solid solutions at the metal-insulator transition temperature to form small ferromagnetically ordered regions (ferrons). Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 1428–1431 (August 1997)     

Diquark and triquark correlations in the deconfined phase of QCD

We use the non-perturbative Q$ \bar Q $ \bar Q potential at finite temperatures derived in the Field Correlator Method to obtain binding energies for the lowest eigenstates in the Q$ \bar Q $ \bar Q and QQQ systems (Q = c, b). The three-quark problem is solved by the hyperspherical method. The solution provides an estimate of the melting temperature and the radii for the different diquark and triquark bound states. In particular we find that J/ψ and ccc ground states survive up to T − 1.3T _c , where T _c is the critical temperature, while the corresponding bottomonium states survive even up to higher temperature, T − 2.3T _c .     

Quark matter nucleation in hot hadronic matter

We study the quark deconfinement phase transition in hot β-stable hadronic matter. Assuming a first order phase transition, we calculate the enthalpy per baryon of the hadron–quark phase transition. We calculate and compare the nucleation rate and the nucleation time due to thermal and quantum nucleation mechanisms. We compute the crossover temperature above which thermal nucleation dominates the finite temperature quantum nucleation mechanism. We next discuss the consequences for the physics of proto-neutron stars. We introduce the concept of limiting conversion temperature and critical mass M_cr for proto-hadronic stars, and we show that proto-hadronic stars with a mass M<M_cr could survive the early stages of their evolution without decaying to a quark star.     

The phase diagram of hadronic matter

We interpret the phase structure of hadronic matter in terms of the basic dynamical and geometrical features of hadrons. Increasing the density of constituents of finite spatial extension, by increasing the temperature T or the baryochemical potential μ, eventually “fills the box” and eliminates the physical vacuum. We determine the corresponding transition as a function of T and μ through percolation theory. At low baryon density, this means a fusion of overlapping mesonic bags to one large bag, while at high baryon density, hard-core repulsion restricts the spatial mobility of baryons. As a consequence, there are two distinct limiting regimes for hadronic matter. We compare our results to those from effective chiral model studies.     

Anomalies in the Young modulus at structural phase transitions in rare-earth cobaltites RBaCo<Subscript>4</Subscript>O<Subscript>7</Subscript> (R = Y,Tm-Lu)

The elastic properties of rare-earth cobaltites RBaCo₄O₇ (R = Y, Tm-Lu) have been experimentally studied in the temperature range of 80–300 K. The strong softening of the Young modulus ΔE(T)/E ₀ ≈ −(0.1–0.2) of cobaltites with Lu and Yb ions has been revealed, which is due to the instability of the crystal structure upon cooling and is accompanied by an inverse jump at the second-order structural phase transition. The softening of the Young modulus and the jump at the phase transition decrease by an order of magnitude and the transition temperature T _s and hysteresis ΔT _s increase from a compound with Lu to that with Tm. A large softening of the Young modulus at the structural transition in Lu- and Yb cobaltites indicates that the corresponding elastic constant goes to zero, whereas this constant in Tm cobaltite is not a “soft” mode of the phase transition. It has been found that the structural phase transition in Lu- and Yb cobaltites is accompanied by a large absorption maximum at the phase transition point and an additional maximum in the low-temperature phase and absorption anomalies in Tm cobaltite is an order of magnitude smaller.     

Phase transition between three- and two-flavor QCD?

We explore the possibility that QCD may undergo a phase transition as a function of the strange quark mass. This would hint towards models with ”spontaneous color symmetry breaking” in the vacuum. For two light quark flavors we classify possible colored quark-antiquark, diquark and gluon condensates that are compatible with a spectrum of integer charged states and conserved isospin and baryon number. The ”quark mass phase transition” would be linked to an unusual realization of baryon number in QCD₂ and could be tested in lattice simulations. We emphasize, however, that at the present stage the Higgs picture of the vacuum cannot predict a quark mass phase transition - a smooth crossover remains as a realistic alternative. Implications of the Higgs picture for the high-density phase transition in QCD₂ suggest that this transition is characterized by the spontaneous breaking of isospin for nuclear and quark matter. Received: 12 March 2001 / Revised version: 2 April 2003 / Published online: 2 June 2003 RID="a" ID="a" e-mail: C.Wetterich@thphys.uni-heidelberg.de     

Specific heat of the elpasolite Pb2MgWO6

The specific heat of Pb₂MgWO₆ has been measured in the temperature interval 83–370 K. An anomaly in the specific heat associated with the phase transition at T ₀=312.8K has been discovered. The thermodynamic parameters of the structural phase transition Fm3m-Pmcn have been determined. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 1686–1688 (September 1999)     

Magnetic and structural phase transitions in the shape-memory ferromagnetic alloys Ni2+x Mn1−x Ga

The results of an experimental investigation of the temperature dependences of the magnetic susceptibility and resistivity in the shape-memory ferromagnetic alloys Ni_2+x Mn_1−x Ga (x=0–0.20) are reported. A T−x phase diagram is constructed on the basis of these data. It is shown that partial substitution of Ni for Mn causes the temperatures of the structural (martensitic) T _M and magnetic T _C (Curie point) phase transitions to converge. In the region where T _C =T _M the transition temperature increases linearly with magnetic field in the range from 0 to 10 kOe. The kinetics of a magnetic-field-induced martensitic phase transition is investigated, and the velocities of the martensite-austenite interphase boundary during direct and reverse transitions are measured. A theoretical model is proposed and the T−x phase diagram is calculated. It is shown that there exist concentration ranges where the magnetic and martensitic transitions merge into a first-order phase transition. The theoretical results are in qualitative agreement with experiment. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 1740–1755 (May 1999)     

Ferroelectric phase stabilization, phase transformations and?thermal properties in (1? x )PbZrO3– x Pb(Co1/3Nb2/3)O3 solid solution

The solid solution between the antiferroelectric PbZrO₃ (PZ) and relaxor ferroelectric Pb(Co_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃ (PCoN) was synthesized by the columbite method. The phase structure and thermal properties of (1−x)PZ–xPCoN, where x=0.0–0.3, were investigated. With these data, the ferroelectric phase diagram between PZ and PCoN has been established. The crystal structure data obtained from XRD indicates that the solid solution PZ–PCoN, where x=0.0–0.3, successively transforms from orthorhombic to rhombohedral symmetry with an increase in PCoN concentration. The AFE→FE phase transition was found in the compositions of 0.0≤x≤0.10. The AFE→FE phase transition shift to lower temperatures with higher compositions of x. The width of the temperature range of FE phase was increased with increasing amount of PCoN. It is apparent that the replacement of the Zr⁴⁺ ion by (Co_1/3Nb_2/3)⁴⁺ ions would decrease the driving force for antiparallel shift of Pb²⁺ ions, because they interrupt the translational symmetry. This interruption caused the appearance of a rhombohedral ferroelectric phase when the amount of PCoN was more than 10 mol%.     

Photoluminescence of a-Si:H films grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition and doped with erbium from the metallorganic compound Er(HFA)3·DME

Using standard low-temperature (<300 °C) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE CVD) technology, films of a Si(Er): H were obtained that emitted light in the neighborhood of 1.54 μm at room temperature. The Er source was the specially synthesized fluorine-containing metallorganic complex Er(HFA)₃·DME where HFA=CF₃C(O)CHC(O)CF₃ and DME=CH₃OCH₂CH₂OCH₃, which possesses a low transition temperature to the gas phase (of order 100 °C) at working pressures (0.1–0.5 Torr) for the PE CVD method. Distinctive features of the photoluminescence spectrum of a-Si(Er):H were investigated in the range 0.5–1.7 μm for T=77 and 300 K. The presence of photoconductivity in the synthesized films is evidence of their satisfactory electronic quality. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 1433–1436 (August 1998)     

Black hole/string transition for the small Schwarzschild black hole of AdS 5 × S5 and critical unitary matrix models

In this paper we discuss the black hole–string transition of the small Schwarzschild black hole of AdS ₅×S⁵ using the AdS/CFT correspondence at finite temperature. The finite temperature gauge theory effective action, at weak and strong coupling, can be expressed entirely in terms of constant Polyakov lines which are SU(N) matrices. In showing this we have taken into account that there are no Nambu–Goldstone modes associated with the fact that the 10-dimensional black hole solution sits at a point in S⁵. We show that the phase of the gauge theory in which the eigenvalue spectrum has a gap corresponds to supergravity saddle points in the bulk theory. We identify the third order N=∞ phase transition with the black hole–string transition. This singularity can be resolved using a double scaling limit in the transition region where the large N expansion is organized in terms of powers of N^-2/3. The N=∞ transition now becomes a smooth crossover in terms of a renormalized string coupling constant, reflecting the physics of large but finite N. Multiply wound Polyakov lines condense in the crossover region. We also discuss the implications of our results for the resolution of the singularity of the lorenztian section of the small Schwarzschild black hole.