Skyrmions at finite density and temperature: the chiral phase transition

The Skyrme model, an effective low energy theory rooted in large $N_c$ QCD, has been applied to the study of dense matter. Matter is described by various crystal structures of skyrmions. When this system is heated, the dominating thermal degrees of freedom are the fluctuating pions. Taking these mechanisms jointly produces a description of the chiral phase transition leading to the conventional phase diagram with critical temperatures and densities in agreement with expected values.