Imaginary Chemical Potential Research Articles

A Scaling Relation, Zm-Type Deconfinement Phases, and Imaginary Chemical Potentials in Finite Temperature Large-N Gauge Theories

Abstract We show that the effective potentials for the Polyakov loops in finite temperature SU$(N)$ gauge theories obey a certain scaling relation with respect to temperature in the large-N limit. This scaling relation strongly constrains the possible terms in the Polyakov loop effective potentials. Moreover, by using the effective potentials in the presence of imaginary chemical potentials or imaginary angular velocities in several models, we find that phase transitions to $Z_m$-type deconfinement phases ($Z_m$ phase) occur, where the eigenvalues of the Polyakov loop are distributed $Z_m$ symmetrically. Physical quantities in the $Z_m$ phase obey the scaling properties of the effective potential. The models include Yang–Mills (YM) theories, the bosonic BFSS matrix model, and ${\mathcal {N}}=4$ supersymmetric YM theory on $S^3$. Thus, the phase diagrams of large-N gauge theories with imaginary chemical potentials are very rich and the stable $Z_m$ phase would be ubiquitous. Monte-Carlo calculations also support this. As a related topic, we discuss the phase diagrams of large-N YM theories with real angular velocities in finite volume spaces.

Continuum-extrapolated high-order baryon fluctuations

Fluctuations play a key role in the study of QCD phases. Lattice QCD is a valuable tool to calculate them, but going to high orders is challenging. Up to the fourth order, continuum results have been available since 2015. We present the first continuum results for sixth-order baryon fluctuations for temperatures between T=130 and 200 MeV and eighth order at T=145 MeV in a fixed volume. Comparison with earlier studies with imaginary chemical potential suggests that the volume effect is under control for T<145 MeV. Our results are in sharp contrast with well-known results in the literature obtained at finite lattice spacing. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Fermionic and Bosonic Partition Functions at Imaginary Chemical Potential as Bloch Functions

In this work it is pointed out that the phase transitions of the <i>d</i>+1 Gross-Neveu (fermionic) and <I>CP<SUP>N</SUP></I><sup>−1</sup> (bosonic) models at finite temperature and imaginary chemical potential can be mapped to transformations of Hubbard-like regular hexagonal to square lattice with the intermediate steps to be specific surfaces (irregular hexagonal kind) with an ordered construction based on the even indexed Bloch-Wigner-Ramakrishnan polylogarithm function. The zeros and extrema of the Clausen <i>Cl<sub>d</sub></i>(<i>θ</i>) function play an important role to the analysis since they allow us not only to study the fermionic and bosonic theories and their phase transitions but also the possibility to explore the existence of conductors arising from the correspondence between the partition functions of the two models and the Bloch and Wannier functions that play a crucial role in the tight-binding approximation in solid state physics. The main aim of this work is not only to unveil the relevance of the canonical partition functions of a fermionic and a bosonic model to Bloch states by using an imaginary chemical potential but also to examine the overlap between two Bloch wave-functions that differ by a lattice momentum that calculates the momentum transfer of a Bloch wave during the interaction with a lattice point of a hexagonal construction.

Entanglement Hamiltonian in the non-Hermitian SSH model

Entanglement Hamiltonians provide the most comprehensive characterisation of entanglement in extended quantum systems. A key result in unitary quantum field theories is the Bisognano-Wichmann theorem, which establishes the locality of the entanglement Hamiltonian. In this work, our focus is on the non-Hermitian Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) chain. We study the entanglement Hamiltonian both in a gapped phase and at criticality. In the gapped phase we find that the lattice entanglement Hamiltonian is compatible with a lattice Bisognano-Wichmann result, with an entanglement temperature linear in the lattice index. At the critical point, we identify a new imaginary chemical potential term absent in unitary models. This operator is responsible for the negative entanglement entropy observed in the non-Hermitian SSH chain at criticality.

Conformal Graphs as Twisted Partition Functions.

We show that a class of L-loop conformal ladder graphs are intimately related to twisted partition functions of free massive complex scalars in d=2L+1 dimensions. The graphs arise as four-point functions in certain two- and four-dimensional conformal fishnet models. The twisted thermal two-point function of the scalars becomes a generator of conformal ladder graphs for all loops. We argue that this correspondence is seeded by a system of two decoupled harmonic oscillators twisted by an imaginary chemical potential. We find a number of algebraic and differential relations among the conformal graphs that mirror the underlying free dynamics.

QCD equation of state at nonzero baryon density in an external magnetic field

This paper is devoted to the study of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) equation of state in external magnetic field and nonzero baryon density. Our study is carried out by means of lattice simulation with 2+1 dynamical staggered quarks at the physical masses. The simulation is conducted at imaginary baryon chemical potential what allowed us to overcome the sign problem. We expand the pressure in the baryon imaginary chemical potential and study three leading nonzero coefficients in this expansion. These coefficients were calculated for the following values of magnetic field: eB=0.3, 0.6, 1.2 GeV2 with the lattice sizes 8×323, 10×403, 12×483. Using these data we take continuum limit for the coefficients. Our results indicate considerable enhancement of the expansion coefficients by the magnetic field. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Light Roberge-Weiss tricritical endpoint at imaginary isospin and baryon chemical potential

Imaginary chemical potentials serve as a useful tool to constrain the QCD phase diagram and to gain insight into the thermodynamics of strongly interacting matter. In this study, we report on the first determination of the phase diagram for arbitrary imaginary baryon and isospin chemical potentials at high temperature using one-loop perturbation theory, revealing a nontrivial structure of Roberge-Weiss (RW) phase transitions in this plane. Subsequently, this system is simulated numerically with Nf=2 unimproved staggered quarks on Nτ=4 lattices at a range of temperatures at one of the RW phase transitions. We establish a lower bound for the light quark mass, where the first-order transition line terminates in a tricritical point. It is found that this tricritical mass is increased as compared to the case of purely baryonic imaginary chemical potentials, indicating that our setup is more advantageous for identifying critical behavior toward the chiral limit. Finally, the dynamics of local Polyakov loop clusters is also studied in conjunction with the RW phase transition. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Exploring the critical points in QCD with multi-point Padé and machine learning techniques in (2+1)-flavor QCD

Using simulations at multiple imaginary chemical potentials for (2 + 1)-flavor QCD, we construct multi-point Padé approximants. We determine the singularties of the Padé approximants and demonstrate that they are consistent with the expected universal scaling behaviour of the Lee-Yang edge singularities. We also use a machine learning model, Masked Autoregressive Density Estimator (MADE), to estimate the density of the Lee-Yang edge singularities at each temperature. This ML model allows us to interpolate between the temperatures. Finally, we extrapolate to the QCD critical point using an appropriate scaling ansatz.

Dual simulation of a Polyakov loop model at finite baryon density: Correlations and screening masses

Computations of screening masses in finite-temperature QCD at finite density are plagued by the sign problem and have been performed so far with an imaginary chemical potential. Here, we use a dual formulation of a Polyakov-loop model which allows the determination of screening masses at real baryon chemical potential. This is a second paper in a series devoted to a detailed study of dual Polyakov-loop models at finite density. While the first paper was mainly devoted to establishing the phase diagram of the model, here we compute correlation functions of the Polyakov loops and the second-moment correlation length at non-zero chemical potential. This enables us to evaluate numerically the screening masses from correlations of the real and imaginary parts of the Polyakov loops. We also compute these masses in the mean-field approximation and compare with numerical results. In addition, we provide a quantitative improvement of the general phase diagram presented in the first paper.

Fermions Coupled to Chern-Simons Gauge Field or Imaginary Chemical Potential and the Bloch Theorem

Fermions Coupled to Chern-Simons Gauge Field or Imaginary Chemical Potential and the Bloch Theorem

Supersymmetric Spectral Form Factor and Euclidean Black Holes.

The late-time behavior of spectral form factor (SFF) encodes the inherent discreteness of a quantum system, which should be generically nonvanishing. We study an index analog of the microcanonical spectrum form factor in four-dimensional N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. In the large N limit and at large enough energy, the most dominant saddle corresponds to the black hole in the AdS bulk. This gives rise to the slope that decreases exponentially for a small imaginary chemical potential, which is a natural analog of an early time. We find that the "late-time" behavior is governed by the multicut saddles that arise in the index matrix model, which are nonperturbatively subdominant at early times. These saddles become dominant at late times, preventing the SFF from decaying. These multicut saddles correspond to the orbifolded Euclidean black holes in the AdS bulk, therefore giving the geometrical interpretation of the "ramp". Our analysis is done in the standard AdS/CFT setting without ensemble average or wormholes.

Lee–Yang Zeroes in the Baryon Fugacity Plane: The Role of High Densities

We compute the canonical partition functions and the Lee–Yang zeros in Nf=2 lattice QCD at temperature T=1.20Tc lying above the Roberge–Weiss phase transition temperature TRW. The phase transition is characterized by the discontinuities in the baryon number density at specific values of imaginary baryon chemical potential. We further develop our method to compute the canonical partition functions using the asymptotic expression for respective integral. Then, we compute the Lee–Yang zeros and study their behavior in the limit of high baryon density.

Net-Baryon Probability Distributions from Lattice Simulations

We use the results of lattice simulations of the net-baryon number density at imaginary baryon chemical potential in Nf=2 QCD to construct the equation of state of dense and hot strong-interacting matter both above the Roberge–Weiss temperature T>TRW and below the critical temperature T<Tc. For these cases, we also evaluate probability distributions of the net-baryon number, as well as the respective cumulants and moments. The consequences of the asymptotic behavior of these probability distributions for the problem of reconstruction of the net-baryon probability distributions from cumulants are discussed.

The QCD phase diagram in the space of imaginary chemical potential via ’t Hooft anomalies

The QCD phase diagram in the space of temperature and imaginary baryon chemical potential has been an interesting subject in numerical lattice QCD simulations because of the absence of the sign problem and its deep structure related to confinement/deconfinement. We study constraints on the phase diagram by using an ’t Hooft anomaly. The relevant anomaly is an anomaly in the space of imaginary chemical potential. We compute it in the UV, and discuss how it is matched by the pion effective field theory at low temperatures. Then we study implications of the anomaly to the phase diagram. There must be a line of phase transition studied in the past by Roberge and Weiss such that the expectation value of the Polyakov loop is not smooth when we cross the line. Moreover, if the greatest common divisor of the color and flavor numbers is greater than one, the phase transition across the Roberge-Weiss line must be either a first order phase transition, or a second order phase transition described by a nontrivial interacting three-dimensional CFT.

Vortices in a rotating holographic superfluid with Lifshitz scaling

We have extended our previous work [1] on rotating holographic superfluids to include Lifshitz scaling. Presence of this scaling breaks relativistic invariance of the boundary superfluid system and indicates the existence of a Lifshitz fixed point [2]. We have analytically shown that we still get same vortex solutions as discovered earlier in [1]. We have recovered previous results for the case of z = 1, which restores the relativistic invariance in the holographic superfluid system. However, for z $\neq$ 1 this study indicate surprising results regarding dissipation in such a holographic superfluid. We found that higher winding number vortices increase with higher values of imaginary chemical potential for values of z in the open interval (1, 2). This result is remarkable because it asserts that dissipation in the rotating holographic superfluid increases in the presence of Lifshitz scaling.

Some Aspects of Persistent Homology Analysis on Phase Transition: Examples in an Effective QCD Model with Heavy Quarks

Recently, persistent homology analysis has been used to investigate phase structure. In this study, we apply persistent homology analysis to the QCD effective model with heavy quarks at finite imaginary chemical potential; i.e., the Potts model with the suitably tuned external field. Since we try to obtain a deeper understanding of the relationship between persistent homology and phase transition in QCD, we consider the imaginary chemical potential because the clear phase transition, which is closely related to the confinement-deconfinement transition, exists. In the actual analysis, we employ the point-cloud approach to consider persistent homology. In addition, we investigate the fluctuation of persistent diagrams to obtain additional information on the relationship between the spatial topology and the phase transition.

Numerical study of the Roberge-Weiss transition

We study the Roberge-Weiss phase transition numerically. The phase transition is associated with the discontinuities in the quark-number density at specific values of imaginary quark chemical potential. We parameterize the quark number density $\rho_q$ by the polynomial fit function to compute the canonical partition functions. We demonstrate that this approach provides a good framework for analyzing lattice QCD data at finite density and a high temperature. We show numerically that at high temperature, the Lee-Yang zeros lie on the negative real semi-axis provided that the high-quark-number contributions to the grand canonical partition function are taken into account. These Lee-Yang zeros have nonzero linear density, which signals the Roberge-Weiss phase transition. We demonstrate that this density agrees with the quark density discontinuity at the transition line.

Lattice QCD equation of state at finite chemical potential from an alternative resummation: Strangeness neutrality and beyond

In this contribution we present a resummation of the Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) equation of state from lattice simulations at imaginary chemical potentials. We generalize the scheme introduced in a previous work [1], to the case of non-zero strangeness chemical potential. We present continuum extrapolated results for thermodynamic observables in the temperature range 130MeV ≤ T ≤ 280 MeV, for chemical potentials up to μB/T = 3:5, along the strangeness neutral line. Furthermore, we relax the constraint of strangeness neutrality, by extrapolating to small values of the strangeness-to-baryon-number ratio R = nS / nB.

Detecting Critical Points from the Lee–Yang Edge Singularities in Lattice QCD

A new approach is presented to explore the singularity structure of lattice QCD in the complex chemical potential plane. Our method can be seen as a combination of the Taylor expansion and analytic continuation approaches. Its novelty lies in using rational (Pad\'e) approximants for studying Lee-Yang edge singularities. We present a calculation of the cumulants of the net-baryon number as a function of a purely imaginary baryon number chemical potential, obtained with highly improved staggered quarks at temporal lattice extent of $N_\tau=4,6$. We construct various rational function approximations of the lattice data and determine their poles (and roots) in the complex plane. We compare the position of the closest pole to the theoretically expected position of the Lee-Yang edge singularity. At high temperature, we find scaling that is in accordance with the expected power law behavior of the Roberge-Weiss transition while a different behavior is found for $T\lesssim 170$ MeV.

Lattice-QCD-based equations of state at finite temperature and density

The equation of state (EoS) of QCD is a crucial input for the modeling of heavy-ion-collision (HIC) and neutron-star-merger systems. Calculations of the fundamental theory of QCD, which could yield the true EoS, are hindered by the infamous Fermi sign problem which only allows direct simulations at zero or imaginary baryonic chemical potential. As a direct consequence, the current coverage of the QCD phase diagram by lattice simulations is limited. In these proceedings, two different equations of state based on first-principle lattice QCD (LQCD) calculations are discussed. The first is solely informed by the fundamental theory by utilizing all available diagonal and non-diagonal susceptibilities up to O(µ 4 B) in order to reconstruct a full EoS at finite baryon number, electric charge and strangeness chemical potentials. For the second, we go beyond information from the lattice in order to explore the conjectured phase structure, not yet determined by LQCD methods, to assist the experimental HIC community in their search for the critical point. We incorporate critical behavior into this EoS by relying on the principle of universality classes, of which QCD belongs to the 3D Ising Model. This allows one to study the effects of a singularity on the thermodynamical quantities that make up the equation of state used for hydrodynamical simulations of HICs. Additionally, we ensure that these EoSs are valid for applications to HICs by enforcing conditions of strangeness neutrality and fixed charge-to-baryonnumber ratio.