On the order of the deconfining transition in N_f=2 QCD

Abstract

A careful study is made on the lattice of the phase diagram of QCD with two staggered flavors, to investigate the order of the chiral transition of N_f=2 QCD. The specific heat and the susceptibility of the chiral condensate are determined for different spatial sizes of the system, and a finite size scaling analysis provides a determination of the (pseudo)critical indices. The result is a strong indication that the chiral transition is first order.

6 pages, 11 figures, contribution to the proceedings of the "8th Workshop on Non-Perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics", June 7-11, 2004, Institut Astrophysique de Paris