SQM studied in the Field Correlator Method

By using the recent nonperturbative equation of state of the quark gluon plasma derived in the formalism of the Field Correlator Method, we investigate the bulk properties of the strange quark matter in beta-equilibrium and with charge neutrality at T=p=0. The results show that the stability of strange quark matter with respect to $^{56}Fe$ is strongly dependent on the model parameters, namely, the gluon condensate $G_2$ and the q$\bar{\rm q}$ interaction potential $V_1$. A remarkable result is that the width of the stability window decreases as $V_1$ increases, being maximum at $V_1=0$ and nearly zero at $V_1=0.5$ GeV. For $V_1$ in the range $0\leq V_1\leq0.5$ GeV, all values of $G_2$ are lower than $0.006-0.007\;{\rm GeV}^4$ obtained from comparison with lattice results at $T_c\;(\mu=0)\sim170$ MeV. These results do not favor the possibilities for the existence of (either nonnegative or negative) absolutely stable strange quark matter.