Nuclear chiral dynamics and phases of QCD

Abstract

This presentation starts with a brief review of our current picture of QCD phases, derived from lattice QCD thermodynamics and from models based on the symmetries and symmetry breaking patterns of QCD. Typical approaches widely used in this context are the PNJL and chiral quark-meson models. It is pointed out, however, that the modeling of the phase diagram in terms of quarks as quasiparticles misses important and well known nuclear physics constraints. In the hadronic phase of QCD governed by confinement and spontaneously broken chiral symmetry, in-medium chiral effective field theory is the appropriate framework, with pions and nucleons as active degrees of freedom. Nuclear chiral thermodynamics is outlined and the liquid-gas phase transition is described. The density and temperature dependence of the chiral condensate is deduced. As a consequence of two- and three-body correlations in the nuclear medium, no tendency towards a first-order chiral phase transition is found at least up to twice the baryon density of normal nuclear matter and up to temperatures of about 100 MeV. Isospin-asymmetric nuclear matter and neutron matter are also discussed. An outlook is given on new tightened constraints for the equation-of-state of cold and highly compressed matter as implied by a recently observed two-solar-mass neutron star.

18 pages, 16 figures, Lectures at the Erice School 2011 "From Quarks and Gluons to Hadrons and Nuclei", to appear in Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys

References in corpus (14)

• Shapiro delay measurement of a two solar mass neutron star
• Color superconductivity in dense quark matter
• Neutron Star Observations: Prognosis for Equation of State Constraints
• The QCD transition temperature: results with physical masses in the continuum limit
• The QCD Equation of State with almost Physical Quark Masses
• The Phase Structure of the Polyakov--Quark-Meson Model
• Constraints on neutron star radii based on chiral effective field theory interactions
• The phase structure of the Polyakov--quark-meson model beyond mean field
• Baryons and the phase diagram for a large number of colors and flavors
• Phase structure, collective modes, and the axial anomaly in dense QCD
• Chiral three-nucleon interaction and the carbon-14 dating beta decay
• Extensions and further applications of the nonlocal Polyakov--Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model
• Chiral and deconfinement transitions in strong coupling lattice QCD with finite coupling and Polyakov loop effects
• Chiral symmetry in strongly interacting matter

Cited by in corpus (18)

• Neutron matter at next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order in chiral effective field theory
• Neutron matter from chiral effective field theory interactions
• Role of Vector Interaction and Axial Anomaly in the PNJL Modeling of the QCD Phase Diagram
• Polyakov loop potential at finite density
• Baryon effects on the location of QCD's critical end point
• Chiral Mirror-Baryon-Meson Model and Nuclear Matter beyond Mean-Field
• Vector interaction strength in Polyakov-Nambu-Jona-Lasinio models from hadron-quark phase diagrams
• Continuum study on QCD phase diagram through an OPE-modified gluon propagator
• Azimuthal Emission Patterns of $K^{+}$ and of $K^{-}$ Mesons in Ni + Ni Collisions near the Strangeness Production Threshold
• Hyperon star in a modified quark meson coupling model
• Phase diagram of Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model with dimensional regularization
• The chiral condensate in neutron matter
• Brief history of the pion-nucleon sigma term
• Electromagnetic signal of the QCD phase transition in neutron star mergers
• Is $K_1/K^{\ast }$ enhancement in heavy ion collisions a signature of chiral symmetry restoration?
• Leading-order nucleon self-energy in relativistic chiral effective field theory
• Thermodynamic potential for quark-gluon plasma with finite quark masses and chemical potential
• High density matter