36 research outputs found
Mass-Induced Crystalline Color Superconductivity
We demonstrate that crystalline color superconductivity may arise as a result
of pairing between massless quarks and quarks with nonzero mass m_s. Previous
analyses of this phase of cold dense quark matter have all utilized a chemical
potential difference \delta\mu to favor crystalline color superconductivity
over ordinary BCS pairing. In any context in which crystalline color
superconductivity occurs in nature, however, it will be m_s-induced. The effect
of m_s is qualitatively different from that of \delta\mu in one crucial
respect: m_s depresses the value of the BCS gap \Delta_0 whereas \delta\mu
leaves \Delta_0 unchanged. This effect in the BCS phase must be taken into
account before m_s-induced and \delta\mu-induced crystalline color
superconductivity can sensibly be compared.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures. v2: very small change onl
Breaking rotational symmetry in two-flavor color superconductors
The color superconductivity under flavor asymmetric conditions relevant to
the compact star phenomenology is studied within the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model.
We focus on the effect of the deformation of the Fermi surfaces on the pairing
properties and the energy budget of the superconducting state. We find that at
finite flavor asymmetries the color superconducting BCS state is unstable
towards spontaneous quadrupole deformation of the Fermi surfaces of the and
quarks into ellipsoidal form. The ground state of the phase with deformed
Fermi surfaces corresponds to a superposition of prolate and oblate deformed
Fermi ellipsoids of and quarks.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Parameter changes, references added, conclusions
unchange
Breached Pairing Superfluidity at Finite Temperature and Density
A general analysis on Fermion pairing at finite temperature and density
between different species with mismatched Fermi surfaces is presented. Very
different from the temperature effect of BCS phase, the recently found breached
pairing phase resulted from density difference of the two species lies in a
region with calabash-like shape in the plane, and the most probable
temperature for the new phase's creation is finite but not zero.Comment: 5 papes, 5 figures. Comments are welcome to
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Color-Neutral Superconducting Quark Matter
We investigate the consequences of enforcing local color neutrality on the
color superconducting phases of quark matter by utilizing the
Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model supplemented by diquark and the t'Hooft six-fermion
interactions. In neutrino free matter at zero temperature, color neutrality
guarantees that the number densities of u, d, and s quarks in the
Color-Flavor-Locked (CFL) phase will be equal even with physical current quark
masses. Electric charge neutrality follows as a consequence and without the
presence of electrons. In contrast, electric charge neutrality in the less
symmetric 2-flavor superconducting (2SC) phase with ud pairing requires more
electrons than the normal quark phase. The free energy density cost of
enforcing color and electric charge neutrality in the CFL phase is lower than
that in the 2SC phase, which favors the formation of the CFL phase. With
increasing temperature and neutrino content, an unlocking transition occurs
from the CFL phase to the 2SC phase with the order of the transition depending
on the temperature, the quark and lepton number chemical potentials. The
astrophysical implications of this rich structure in the phase diagram,
including estimates of the effects from Goldstone bosons in the CFL phase, are
discussed.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures; version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Drum vortons in high density QCD
Recently it was shown that high density QCD supports of number of topological
defects. In particular, there are U(1)_Y strings that arise due to K^0
condensation that occurs when the strange quark mass is relatively large. The
unique feature of these strings is that they possess a nonzero K^+ condensate
that is trapped on the core. In the following we will show that these strings
(with nontrivial core structure) can form closed loops with conserved charge
and currents trapped on the string worldsheet. The presence of conserved
charges allows these topological defects, called vortons, to carry angular
momentum, which makes them classically stable objects. We also give arguments
demonstrating that vortons carry angular momentum very efficiently (in terms of
energy per unit angular momentum) such that they might be the important degrees
of freedom in the cores of neutron stars.Comment: 11 pages, accepted for publication in Physical Review
The Crystallography of Color Superconductivity
We develop the Ginzburg-Landau approach to comparing different possible
crystal structures for the crystalline color superconducting phase of QCD, the
QCD incarnation of the Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrell phase. In this phase,
quarks of different flavor with differing Fermi momenta form Cooper pairs with
nonzero total momentum, yielding a condensate that varies in space like a sum
of plane waves. We work at zero temperature, as is relevant for compact star
physics. The Ginzburg-Landau approach predicts a strong first-order phase
transition (as a function of the chemical potential difference between quarks)
and for this reason is not under quantitative control. Nevertheless, by
organizing the comparison between different possible arrangements of plane
waves (i.e. different crystal structures) it provides considerable qualitative
insight into what makes a crystal structure favorable. Together, the
qualitative insights and the quantitative, but not controlled, calculations
make a compelling case that the favored pairing pattern yields a condensate
which is a sum of eight plane waves forming a face-centered cubic structure.
They also predict that the phase is quite robust, with gaps comparable in
magnitude to the BCS gap that would form if the Fermi momenta were degenerate.
These predictions may be tested in ultracold gases made of fermionic atoms. In
a QCD context, our results lay the foundation for a calculation of vortex
pinning in a crystalline color superconductor, and thus for the analysis of
pulsar glitches that may originate within the core of a compact star.Comment: 41 pages, 13 figures, 1 tabl
Numerical Portrait of a Relativistic BCS Gapped Superfluid
We present results of numerical simulations of the 3+1 dimensional Nambu -
Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model with a non-zero baryon density enforced via the
introduction of a chemical potential mu not equal to 0. The triviality of the
model with a number of dimensions d>=4 is dealt with by fitting low energy
constants, calculated analytically in the large number of colors (Hartree)
limit, to phenomenological values. Non-perturbative measurements of local order
parameters for superfluidity and their related susceptibilities show that, in
contrast to the 2+1 dimensional model, the ground-state at high chemical
potential and low temperature is that of a traditional BCS superfluid. This
conclusion is supported by the direct observation of a gap in the dispersion
relation for 0.5<=(mu a)<=0.85, which at (mu a)=0.8 is found to be roughly 15%
the size of the vacuum fermion mass. We also present results of an initial
investigation of the stability of the BCS phase against thermal fluctuations.
Finally, we discuss the effect of splitting the Fermi surfaces of the pairing
partners by the introduction of a non-zero isospin chemical potential.Comment: 41 pages, 19 figures, uses axodraw.sty, v2: minor typographical
correction
A new search for H I in the Southern Coalsack
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