Study of Strange Quark Mass in CFL Phase

In this paper we introduce bilocal fields in the global color symmetry model and consider color and electrical neutrality conditions simultaneously to study the effect of strange quark mass Ms for the momentum-dependent condensate of color-flavor locked phase. Consequently we find that there will be a quantum phase transition occurring.     

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.     

Chiral symmetry breaking and pion properties at finite temperatures

Spontaneous and explicit chiral symmetry breaking is analyzed in Coulomb gauge QCD at finite temperatures, using an instantaneous approximation for the quark interaction and incorporating confinement through a running coupling constant. The thermodynamics of the quarks is treated approximatively by assuming that the momentum-dependent constituent quark mass sets the scale for thermodynamic fluctuations of colour singlet excitations. We investigate the class of a temperature independent and a temperature dependent interaction between quarks. In the chiral limit both temperature independent and a smooth temperature dependent interaction yields a second order chiral phase transition with critical exponents close to the values for a BCS super-conductor. For explicit chiral symmetry breaking we find a nearly constant pion mass below the transition temperature, but a strongly overdamped mode above. For a first order deconfining transition in the gluonic sector also the quark sector shows a first order chiral phase transition. The relevance of our results for relativistic heavy ion collisions is briefly discussed.     

The deconfining phase transition - influence of hadron resonances and strangeness

A model is developed for the hadron gas to the quark-gluon plasma phase transition which includes finite light quark and strange quark chemical potentials. A new generalized phase diagram incorporating the effects of strange particles is introduced and shows the strange chemical potential to be discontinuous. The influence of strange particles on the critical thermodynamic variables is found to be small.     

Phase structure of two-flavor QCD at finite chemical potential

We study the phase diagram of two-flavor QCD at imaginary chemical potentials in the chiral limit. To this end we compute order parameters for chiral symmetry breaking and quark confinement. The interrelation of quark confinement and chiral symmetry breaking is analyzed with a new order parameter for the confinement phase transition. We show that it is directly related to both the quark density as well as the Polyakov loop expectation value. Our analytical and numerical results suggest a close relation between the chiral and the confinement phase transition.     

Core collapse supernovae in the QCD phase diagram

We compare two classes of hybrid equations of state with a hadron-to-quark matter phase transition in their application to core collapse supernova simulations. The first one uses the quark bag model and describes the transition to three-flavor quark matter at low critical densities. The second one employs a Polyakov-loop extended Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (PNJL) model with parameters describing a phase transition to two-flavor quark matter at higher critical densities. These models possess a distinctly different temperature dependence of their transition densities which turns out to be crucial for the possible appearance of quark matter in supernova cores. During the early post-bounce accretion phase quark matter is found only if the phase transition takes place at sufficiently low densities as in the study based on the bag model. The increase critical density with increasing temperature, as obtained for our PNJL parametrization, prevents the formation of quark matter. The further evolution of the core collapse supernova as obtained applying the quark bag model leads to a structural reconfiguration of the central protoneutron star where, in addition to a massive pure quark matter core, a strong hydrodynamic shock wave forms and a second neutrino burst is released during the shock propagation across the neutrinospheres. We discuss the severe constraints in the freedom of choice of quark matter models and their parametrization due to the recently observed 2M _?? pulsar and their implications for further studies of core collapse supernovae in the QCD phase diagram.     

Cornwall-Jackiw-Tomboulis Effective Potential for Quark Propagator in Real-Time Thermal Field Theory and Landau Gauge

We complete the derivation of the Cornwall-Jackiw-Tomboulis effective potential for quark propagator at finite temperature and finite quark chemical potential in the real-time formalism of thermal field theory and in Landau gauge. In the approximation that the function A(p2) in inverse quark propagator is replaced by unity, by means of the running gauge coupling and the quark mass function invariant under the renormalization group in zero temperature Quantum Chromadynamics (QCD), we obtain a calculable expression for the thermal effective potential, which will be a useful means to research chiral phase transition in QCD in the real-time formalism.     

Cornwall-Jackiw-Tomboulis Effective Potential for Quark Propagator in Real-Time Thermal Field Theory and Landau Gauge

We complete the derivation of the Cornwall-Jackiw-Tomboulis effective potentiM for quark propagator at finite temperature and finite quark chemical potential in the real-time formalism of thermal field theory and in Landau gauge. In the approximation that the function A（p^2） in inverse quark propagator is replaced by unity, by means of the running gauge coupling and the quark mass function invariant under the renormalization group in zero temperature Quantum Chromadynamics （QCD）, we obtain a calculable expression for the thermal effective potential, which will be a useful means to research chiral phase transition in QCD in the real-time formalism.     

Real-Time Thermal Schwinger-Dyson Equation for Quark Self-energy in Landau Gauge

By means of a formal expression of Cornwall-Jackiw-Tomboulis effective potential for quark propagator at finite temperatures and finite quark chemical potentials, we derive the real-time thermal Schwinger-Dyson equation for quark propagator in Landau gauge. Denote the inverse quark propagator by A(p2)p - B(p2), we argue that, when temperature T is lower than the given infrared momentum cutoff pc, A(p2) = 1 is a feasible approximation and can be assumed in discussions of chiral symmetry phase transition problem in QCD.     

Effective lagrangian analysis of the chiral phase transition at finite density

Introducing a finite chemical potential μ for the quark number density ψ^°ψ, we study analytically the restoration of Π^° chiral symmetry as μ is varied. In the strong coupling limit, the effective lagrangian for SU(N) gauge theories coupled to fermion fields in d dimensions is derived for all N. In the case of SU(2) we predict a second order chiral symmetry restoration phase transition, whereas for all N?3 the transition is first order. Predictions are given for the critical values of the chemical potential μ.     

Calculation of Partition Function of QCD at Finite Chemical Potential

In equilibrium statistical field theory, the partition function has fundamental importance. In this paper we propose a direct and general method for calculating the partition function and equation of state of QCD at finite chemical potential. It is found that the partition function is totally determined by the dressed quark propagator at finite chemical potential up to a multiplicative constant. From this a criterion for the phase transition between the Nambu and the Wigner phases is obtained. This general method is applied to two specific cases： the free quark theory and QCD with a model dressed quark propagator having confinement features. In the first case, the standard Fermi distribution at T = 0 is reproduced. In the second case, we apply the conclusion in previous works to obtain the dressed quark propagator at finite chemical potential and find the unphysical result that the baryon number density vanishes for all values of chemical potential. The reason for this result is discussed.     

Quark core stars,quark stars and strange stars

A recent one flavor (zero temperature) quark matter equation of state is generalized to several flavors. It is shown that quarks undergo a first order phase transition. In addition, this equation of state depends on few parameters, one in the two flavor case, two in the three flavor case, and these parameters can be constrained by phenomenology. This equation of state is then applied to 1) the hadronquark transition in neutron stars and the determination of quark star stability, 2) the investigation of strange matter stability and possible strange star existence.     

The QCD phase boundary from quark–gluon dynamics

We study one-flavor QCD at finite temperature and chemical potential using the functional renormalization group. We discuss the chiral phase transition in QCD and its order with its underlying mechanism in terms of quarks and gluons and analyze the dependence of the phase-transition temperature on small quark chemical potentials. Our result for the curvature of the phase boundary at small quark chemical potential relies on only a single input parameter, the value of the strong coupling at the Z mass scale.     

色味连锁物质的稳定态及其相变

简要介绍和评述了色味连锁物质的稳定态及其相变,指出高密强相互作用物质由于夸克配对出现了一些奇异相。重点介绍色味连锁（CFL）物质及其中的Goldstone-mode凝聚现象。在考虑奇异数对应化学势μs≠0的情况下,CFL物质中K^0和K^-0都可能发生凝聚。随着重子数密度的增高,强作用物质呈现出丰富相结构,在核物质相与CFL相之间可能存在其它相,但最简单的可能相变过程是直接从核物质相变为CFL物质。这种相变可有两种过程,即两相间仅存在一个极小界面或出现两相混合区域。另外还重点讨论了K^-介子凝聚对相变的影响。Quark matter at high density has a rich phase structure. Goidstone-mode may condense in the color-flavor-locked （CFL） phase matter. We review the stability of CFL phase and its phase transition, as well as the effect of nonzero strangeness chemical potential on the CFL phase of dense quark matter. It is pointed out that, depending on the value of μs, both K^0 and K^-0 may condense in the CFL matter. As a function of quark chemical potential, other phases may intervene between the nuclear-matter and CFL phase. The simplest possibility, however, is a transition between nuclear and CFL matter. Such a transition could occur either at a single sharp interface or through a mixed phase region. The effect of discontinuous K^- meson condensation on the phase transition is also discussed. [     

QCD phase transition with strange quark in wilson formalism for fermions

The nature of QCD phase transition is studied with massless up and down quarks and a light strange quark, using the Wilson formalism for quarks on a lattice with the temporal direction extensionN _t=4. We find that the phase transition is of first order for the physical strange quark mass.     

Expanding the thermodynamical potential and analysis of the possible phase diagram of deconfinement in the FL model

Deconfinement phase transition is studied in the FL model at finite temperature and chemical potential. At MFT approximation, phase transition can only be first order in the whole μ-T phase plane. Using a Landau expansion, we further study the phase transition order and the possible phase diagram of deconfinement. We discuss the possibilities of second order phase transitions in the FL model. From our analysis, if the cubic term in the Landau expansion could be cancelled by the higher order fluctuations, second order phase transition may occur. By an ansatz of the Landau parameters, we obtain a possible phase diagram with both the first and second order phase transitions, including the tri-critical point which is similar to that of the chiral phase transition.     

Percolation transition in Yang-Mills matter at a finite number of colors

We examine baryonic matter at a quark chemical potential of the order of the confinement scale μ(q)～Λ(QCD). In this regime, quarks are supposed to be confined but baryons are close to the "tightly packed limit" where they nearly overlap in configuration space. We show that this system will exhibit a percolation phase transition when varied in the number of colors N(c): at high N(c), large distance correlations at the quark level are possible even if the quarks are essentially confined. At low N(c), this does not happen. We discuss the relevance of this for dense nuclear matter, and argue that our results suggest a new "phase transition," varying N(c) at constant μ(q).     

QCD phase transition with strange quark in wilson formalism for fermions

The nature of QCD phase transition is studied with massless up and down quarks and a light strange quark, using the Wilson formalism for quarks on a lattice with the temporal direction extensionN _t=4. We find that the phase transition is of first order for the physical strange quark mass.     

Quark-hadron phase transition and strangeness conservation constraints

The implications of the strangeness conservation in a hadronic resonance gas (HRG) on the expected phase transition to the quark gluon plasma (QGP) are investigated. It is assumed that under favourable conditions a first order hadron-quark matter phase transition may occur in the hot hadronic matter such as those produced in the ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions at CERN and BNL. It is however shown that the criteria of strict strangeness conservation in the HRG may not permit the occurrence of a strict first order equilibrium quark-hadron phase transition unlike a previous study. This emerges as a consequence of the application of a realistic equation of state (EOS) for the HRG and QGP phases, which account for the finite-size effect arising from the short range hard-core hadronic repulsion in the HRG phase and the perturbative QCD interactions in the QGP phase. For a first order hadron-quark matter phase transition to occur one will therefore require large fluctuations in the critical thermal parameters, which might arise due to superheating, supercooling or other nonequlibrium effects. We also discuss a scenario proposed earlier, leading to a possible strangeness separation process during hadronization. Received: 25 August 1997 / Revised version: 25 March 1998 / Published online: 26 August 1998     

Dynamical fermions at non-Zero chemical potential and temperature: Mean field approach

We derive a strong coupling effective Lagrangian describing Wilson lines coupled to quark bilinears. Wilson line and dynamical quark mass are studied in mean field approximation. A second-order finite-temperature chiral phase transition is found at zero chemical potential μ. For μ≠0 this transition becomes a first-order one.