Related papers: How can we explore the onset of deconfinement by e…
Numerical studies of the QCD phase diagram at finite baryon chemical potential $\mu_B$ on the lattice are impeded by a sign problem. Effective Polyakov loop theories derived from lattice QCD via combined strong-coupling and hopping…
We report on recent research on the properties of elementary particle matter governed by the strong force at high temperatures, where QCD predicts hadrons to dissolve into the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP). After a short introduction to the…
We propose a picture that the chiral phase transition at zero quark mass and the deconfinement transition at infinite quark mass are continuously connected. This gives a simple interpretation on the coincidence of the pseudo-critical…
Quark deconfinement phase transition at finite temperature and density is investigated in the frame of quantum mechanics. By solving the Schr\"odinger equation for a heavy quark in a thermal mean field, we calculate the quark probability…
The confinement-deconfinement transition is discussed from topological viewpoints. The topological change of the system is achieved by introducing the dimensionless imaginary chemical potential ($\theta$). Then, the non-trivial free-energy…
We compare different models for hadronic and quark phases of cold baryon-rich matter in an attempt to find a deconfinement phase transition between them. For the hadronic phase we consider Walecka-type mean-field models which describe well…
We study two colors lattice QCD (QC$_2$D) with two flavors of staggered fermions on $40^4$ and $32^4$ lattices with lattice spacing $a =0.048$~fm in the wide range of the quark chemical potential $\mu_q$. Our focus is on the…
We study lattice QCD in the limit that the quark mass and chemical potential are simultaneously made large, resulting in a controllable density of quarks which do not move. This is similar in spirit to the quenched approximation for zero…
We calculate the deconfinement line of transitions for large Nc QCD at finite temperature and chemical potential in two different regimes: weak coupling in the continuum, and, strong coupling on the lattice, working in the limit where Nf is…
Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the theory of the strong interaction. The fundamental particles of QCD, quarks and gluons, carry colour charge and form colourless bound states at low energies. The hadronic bound states of primary interest…
I review recent lattice QCD results on a few selected topics which are relevant to the heavy ion physics community. Special emphasis is put on the QCD equation of state at vanishing and nonzero baryon chemical potential, the onset of…
Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) is generally assumed to be the fundamental theory underlying nuclear physics. In recent years there is progress towards investigating the nucleon structure from first principles of QCD. Although this structure…
We study the phase structure of full QCD within the canonical ensemble with respect to triality in a lattice formulation. The procedure for the calculation of the effective potentials in this case is given. As an example we consider the…
Heavy quarks have been instrumental for progress in our exploration of strong interactions. Quarkonium in particular, a heavy quark-antiquark nonrelativistic bound state, has been at the root of several revolutions. Quarkonium is endowed…
Recent developments in Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) are reviewed on three major topics where nonperturbative gluon excitations of the QCD vacuum and the physical properties of the confining flux play a central role: (1) New lattice results…
We review the influence of a magnetic background on the phase diagram of strong interactions and how the chiral and deconfining transitions can be affected. First we summarize results for both transitions obtained in the framework of the…
Matter in its present form was formed when our Universe emerged from the quark-gluon phase (QGP) at about 30mus into its evolution. To explore this early period in the laboratory, we study highly excited matter formed in relativistic heavy…
Relativistic heavy ion physics studies the phenomena that occur when a very large (in units of QCD scale $\Lambda_{\rm QCD}$) amount of energy is deposited into a large (in units of $\Lambda^{-3}_{\rm QCD}$) volume, creating an extended in…
For a long time, strong coupling expansions have not been applied systematically in lattice QCD thermodynamics, in view of the succes of numerical Monte Carlo studies. The persistent sign problem at finite baryo-chemical potential, however,…
Since QCD is believed to be the underlying theory of the strong interaction, it is appropriate to study techniques that take into account more features of its rich and complex structure. We begin by discussing aspects of physics that are…