Related papers: Supporting the existence of the QCD critical point…
We present a model for hybrid compact stars composed of a quark core and a hadronic mantle with an abrupt first order phase transition at the interface and in accordance with the latest astrophysical measurements of two 2 M_sun pulsars. We…
We point out that the very existence of a "horizontal branch" in the mass-radius characteristics for neutron stars indicates a strong first-order phase transition and thus supports the existence of a critical endpoint (CEP) of first order…
We present two types of models for hybrid compact stars composed of a quark core and a hadronic mantle with an abrupt first order phase transition at the interface which are in accordance with the latest astrophysical measurements of two 2…
Recent theoretical investigations have unveiled a rich structure in the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) phase diagram which consists of quark gluon plasma (QGP) and the hadronic phases but also supports the existence of a cross-over transition…
Aims: We present a new microscopic hadron-quark hybrid equation of state model for astrophysical applications, from which compact hybrid star configurations are constructed. These are composed of a quark core and a hadronic shell with a…
We provide numerical evidence that the thermal QCD crossover turns into a first order transition in the presence of large enough magnetic background fields. The critical endpoint is found to be located between $eB = 4$ GeV$^2$ (where the…
For the first time, we investigate susceptibilities of dense quark matter up to $8$th order using an effective model. Generally higher order susceptibilities will have more sign changes and larger magnitude, thus should give more…
The possible role of a first order QCD phase transition at nonvanishing quark chemical potential and temperature for cold neutron stars and for supernovae is delineated. For cold neutron stars, we use the NJL model with nonvanishing color…
We present a probabilistic model for the QCD critical endpoint (CEP) and the equation of state (EOS) at $\beta$-equilibrium, constrained by neutron-star observations. Using a hybrid framework that combines the holographic V-QCD model with…
It is generally believed that the quark-hadron transition at small values of baryon chemical potentials $\mu_B$ is a crossover but changes to a first-order phase transition with an associated critical endpoint (CEP) as $\mu_B$ increases.…
I first sketch recent developments concerning the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter as a function of temperature and baryon density, obtained using a model for two-flavor QCD in which the interaction between quarks is modelled on…
The existence of the QCD critical point at non-zero baryon density is not only of great interest for experimental physics but also a challenge for the theory. Any hint of the existence of the first order phase transition and, particularly,…
A qualitative analysis of the chiral phase transition in QCD at non--zero baryon density is performed. It is assumed that at zero baryonic density, $\rho=0$, the temperature phase transition is of the second order and quark condesate $\eta=…
The physics regarding the existence of the critical end point (CEP) on the QCD phase boundary still remains unclear and its precise location is quite uncertain. In this paper we propose that the hard-core size of the baryons used in the…
In addition to signals for the critical point, evidence for a first order phase transition would indicate a nontrivial structure within the QCD phase diagram. Moreover, while not a direct measurement of the critical point, the presence of a…
Ambiguities regarding the physics and the existence of the critical point (CP) on the QCD phase boundary still exist and the mist regarding the conjectured QCD phase boundary has not yet cleared. In this paper we extend our earlier study…
I review arguments for the existence of a critical point in the QCD phase diagram as a function of temperature and baryon chemical potential. I describe how heavy ion collision experiments at the SPS and RHIC can discover the tell-tale…
We revisit the phase structure and thermodynamics of QCD in the low temperature and high density region, where a strong, first-order phase transition is expected beyond the critical end point. By solving the quark gap equation in the…
A qualitative analysis of the chiral phase transition in QCD with two massless quarks and non-zero baryon density is performed. It is assumed that at zero baryonic density, $\rho=0$, the temperature phase transition is of the second order…
We use the linear sigma model coupled to quarks to explore the location of the phase transition lines in the QCD phase diagram from the point of view of chiral symmetry restoration at high temperature and baryon chemical potential. We…