Isospin Chemical Potential and the QCD Phase Diagram at Nonzero Temperature and Baryon Chemical Potential

We use the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model to study the effects of the isospin chemical potential on the QCD phase diagram at nonzero temperature and baryon chemical potential. We find that the phase diagram is qualitatively altered by a small isospin chemical potential. There are two first order phase transitions that end in two critical endpoints, and there are two crossovers at low baryon chemical potential. These results have important consequences for systems where both baryon and isospin chemical potentials are nonzero, such as heavy ion collision experiments. Our results are in complete agreement with those recently obtained in a Random Matrix Model.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, REVTeX

Lowest tensor-meson resonances contributions to the chiral perturbation theory low energy coupling constants

The contributions of the lightest tensor-meson resonances to the low-energy coupling constants of second order chiral perturbation theory with two flavours are evaluated and compared with the available phenomenological information as well as with similar results for other resonances

The QCD Phase Diagram at Non-zero Baryon and Isospin Chemical Potentials

In heavy ion collision experiments as well as in neutron stars, both baryon and isospin chemical potentials are different from zero. In particular, the regime of small isospin chemical potential is phenomenologically important. Using a random matrix model, we find that the phase diagram at non-zero temperature and baryon chemical potential is greatly altered by an arbitrarily small isospin chemical potential: There are two first order phase transitions at low temperature, two critical endpoints, and two crossovers at high temperature. As a consequence, in the region of the phase diagram explored by RHIC experiments, there are two crossovers that separate the hadronic phase from the quark-gluon plasma phase at high temperature.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures. Talk presented at Lattice2004(non-zero), Fermilab, June 21 - 26, 200

Finite Density Lattice Gauge Theories with Positive Fermion Determinants

We perform simulations of (3-colour) QCD with 2 quark flavours at a finite chemical potential $\mu_I$ for isospin($I_3$), and of 2-colour QCD at a finite chemical potential $\mu$ for quark number. At zero temperature, QCD at finite $\mu_I$ has a mean-field phase transition at $\mu_I=m_\pi$ to a superfluid state with a charged pion condensate which spontaneously breaks $I_3$. We study the finite temperature transition as a function of $\mu_I$. For $\mu_I < m_\pi$, where this is closely related to the transition at finite $\mu$, this appears to be a crossover independent of quark mass, with no sign of the proposed critical endpoint. For $\mu_I > m_\pi$ this becomes a true phase transition where the pion condensate evaporates. For $\mu_I$ just above $m_\pi$ the transition seems to be second order, while for larger $\mu_I$ it appears to become first order. At zero temperature, 2-colour QCD also possesses a superfluid state with a diquark condensate. We study its spectrum of Goldstone and pseudo-Goldstone bosons associated with chiral and quark-number symmetry breaking.Comment: 12 pages Latex/ptptex, 10 figures. Talk at Finite Density QCD, 2003, Nara Revised to add 2 reference

Effective Low Energy Theories and QCD Dirac Spectra

We analyze the smallest Dirac eigenvalues by formulating an effective theory for the QCD Dirac spectrum. We find that in a domain where the kinetic term of the effective theory can be ignored, the Dirac eigenvalues are distributed according to a Random Matrix Theory with the global symmetries of the QCD partition function. The kinetic term provides information on the slope of the average spectral density of the Dirac operator. In the second half of this lecture we interpret quenched QCD Dirac spectra at nonzero chemical potential (with eigenvalues scattered in the complex plane) in terms of an effective low energy theory.Comment: Invited talk at the 10th International Conference on Recent Progress in Many-Body Theories (MBX), Seattle, September 1999, 13 pages, Latex, with 1 figure, uses ws-p9-75x6-50.cl

Quark-Antiquark Condensates in the Hadronic Phase

We use a hadron resonance gas model to calculate the quark-antiquark condensates for light (up and down) and strange quark flavors at finite temperatures and chemical potentials. At zero chemical potentials, we find that at the temperature where the light quark-antiquark condensates entirely vanish the strange quark-antiquark condensate still keeps a relatively large fraction of its value in the vacuum. This is in agreement with results obtained in lattice simulations and in chiral perturbation theory at finite temperature and zero chemical potentials. Furthermore, we find that this effect slowly disappears at larger baryon chemical potential. These results might have significant consequences for our understanding of QCD at finite temperatures and chemical potentials. Concretely, our results imply that there might be a domain of temperatures where chiral symmetry is restored for light quarks, but still broken for strange quark that persists at small chemical potentials. This might have practical consequences for heavy ion collision experiments.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figure

Diquark Condensation at Nonzero Chemical Potential and Temperature

SU(2) lattice gauge theory with four flavors of quarks is studied at nonzero chemical potential $\mu$ and temperature $T$ by computer simulation and Effective Lagrangian techniques. Simulations are done on $8^4$, $8^3 \times 4$ and $12^3 \times 6$ lattices and the diquark condensate, chiral order parameter, Wilson line, fermion energy and number densities are measured. Simulations at a fixed, nonzero quark mass provide evidence for a tricritical point in the $\mu$-$T$ plane associated with diquark condensation. For low $T$, increasing $\mu$ takes the system through a line of second order phase transitions to a diquark condensed phase. Increasing $T$ at high $\mu$, the system passes through a line of first order transitions from the diquark phase to the quark-gluon plasma phase. Using Effective Lagrangians we estimate the position of the tricritical point and ascribe its existence to trilinear couplings that increase with $\mu$ and $T$.Comment: 18 pages revtex, 11 figures postscrip

QCD determination of the axial-vector coupling of the nucleon at finite temperature

A thermal QCD Finite Energy Sum Rule (FESR) is used to obtain the temperature dependence of the axial-vector coupling of the nucleon, $g_{A}(T)$. We find that $g_{A}(T)$ is essentially independent of $T$, in the very wide range $0 \leq T \leq 0.9 T_{c}$, where $T_{c}$ is the critical temperature. While $g_{A}$ at T=0 is $q^{2}$-independent, it develops a $q^{2}$ dependence at finite temperature. We then obtain the mean square radius associated with $g_{A}$ and find that it diverges at $T=T_{c}$, thus signalling quark deconfinement. As a byproduct, we study the temperature dependence of the Goldberger-Treiman relation.Comment: 8 pages and 3 figure