Baryons and the QCD phase transition

Abstract

Lattice simulations in full QCD have shown that the baryon susceptibility rises rapidly near the high temperature phase transition. This rise is a possible consequence of the restoration of chiral symmetry. Supporting evidence from numerical simulations with a Skyrme-like model is given. The results obtained further support the idea that the cooling of the quark plasma results in copious antibaryon production. They also provide a natural bridge between the high temperature and high density phase transitions.