Random matrix model for chiral symmetry breaking and color superconductivity in QCD at finite density

Abstract

We consider a random matrix model which describes the competition between chiral symmetry breaking and the formation of quark Cooper pairs in QCD at finite density. We study the evolution of the phase structure in temperature and chemical potential with variations of the strength of the interaction in the quark-quark channel and demonstrate that the phase diagram can realize a total of six different topologies. A vector interaction representing single-gluon exchange reproduces a topology commonly encountered in previous QCD models, in which a low-density chiral broken phase is separated from a high-density diquark phase by a first-order line. The other five topologies either do not possess a diquark phase or display a new phase and new critical points. Since these five cases require large variations of the coupling constants away from the values expected for a vector interaction, we conclude that the phase diagram of finite density QCD has the topology suggested by single-gluon exchange and that this topology is robust.Comment: ReVTeX, 22 pages, 14 figures. An animated gif movie showing the evolution of the phase diagram with the coupling constants can be viewed at http://www.nbi.dk/~vdheyden/QCDpd.htm