Non-vanishing Chemical Potential Research Articles

SU(2) Dual QCD Quark-Hadron Phase Transition in the Presence of Non-Vanishing Chemical Potential

SU(2) Dual QCD Quark-Hadron Phase Transition in the Presence of Non-Vanishing Chemical Potential

Sunlight-pumped two-dimensional thermalized photon gas

The Liouville theorem states that the phase-space volume of an ensemble in a closed system remains constant. While gases of material particles can efficiently be cooled by sympathetic or laser cooling techniques, allowing for large phase-space compression upon suitable coupling to the environment, for light both the absence of an internal structure, as well as the nonconservation of photons upon contact with matter imposes fundamental limits for three-dimensional light-harvesting systems, such as fluorescence-based light concentrators. An advantageous physical situation can in principle be expected for dye-solution-filled microcavities with a mirror spacing in the wavelength range, where low-dimensional photon gases with nonvanishing and tunable chemical potential have been experimentally realized. Motivated by the goal to observe phase-space compression of sunlight by cooling the captured radiation to room temperature, in this work we theoretically show that in a lossless, harmonically confined system the phase-space volume scales as ${(\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}x\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}p/T)}^{d}=\mathrm{constant}$, where $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}x$ and $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}p$ denote the position and momentum spread and $d$ the dimensionality of the system ($d=1$ or 2). Experimentally, we realize a corresponding sunlight-pumped dye microcavity and demonstrate thermalization of scattered sunlight to a two-dimensional room temperature photon gas with nonvanishing chemical potential. Prospects of phase-space buildup of light by cooling, as can be feasible in systems with a two- or three-dimensional band gap, range from quantum state preparation in tailored potentials up to technical applications for more efficient collection of diffuse sunlight.

Taylor expansions and Padé approximants for cumulants of conserved charge fluctuations at nonvanishing chemical potentials

Using high statistics datasets generated in ($2+1$)-flavor QCD calculations at finite temperature, we present results for low-order cumulants of net-baryon-number fluctuations at nonzero values of the baryon chemical potential. We calculate Taylor expansions for the pressure (zeroth-order cumulant), the net-baryon-number density (first-order cumulant), and the variance of the distribution on net-baryon-number fluctuations (second-order cumulant). We obtain series expansions from an eighth-order expansion of the pressure and compare these to diagonal Pad\'e approximants. This allows us to estimate the range of values for the baryon chemical potential in which these expansions are reliable. We find ${\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}/T\ensuremath{\le}2.5$, 2.0, and 1.5 for the zeroth-, first-, and second-order cumulants, respectively. We, furthermore, construct estimators for the radius of convergence of the Taylor series of the pressure. In the vicinity of the pseudocritical temperature ${T}_{pc}\ensuremath{\simeq}156.5\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}$, we find ${\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}/T\ensuremath{\gtrsim}2.9$ at vanishing strangeness chemical potential and somewhat larger values for strangeness neutral matter. These estimates are temperature dependent and range from ${\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}/T\ensuremath{\gtrsim}2.2$ at $T=135\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}$ to ${\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}/T\ensuremath{\gtrsim}3.2$ at $T=165\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}$. The estimated radius of convergences is the same for any higher-order cumulant.

Notes on massless scalar field partition functions, modular invariance and Eisenstein series

The partition function of a massless scalar field on a Euclidean spacetime manifold ℝd−1 × \U0001d54b2 and with momentum operator in the compact spatial dimension coupled through a purely imaginary chemical potential is computed. It is modular covariant and admits a simple expression in terms of a real analytic SL(2, ℤ) Eisenstein series with s = (d + 1)/2. Different techniques for computing the partition function illustrate complementary aspects of the Eisenstein series: the functional approach gives its series representation, the operator approach yields its Fourier series, while the proper time/heat kernel/world-line approach shows that it is the Mellin transform of a Riemann theta function. High/low temperature duality is generalized to the case of a non-vanishing chemical potential. By clarifying the dependence of the partition function on the geometry of the torus, we discuss how modular covariance is a consequence of full SL(2, ℤ) invariance. When the spacetime manifold is ℝp × \U0001d54bq+1, the partition function is given in terms of a SL(q + 1, ℤ) Eisenstein series again with s = (d + 1)/2. In this case, we obtain the high/low temperature duality through a suitably adapted dual parametrization of the lattice defining the torus. On \U0001d54bd+1, the computation is more subtle. An additional divergence leads to an harmonic anomaly.

An Approach of Statistical Corrections to Interactions in Hadron Resonance Gas

We propose a new model for hadrons with quantum mechanical attractive and repulsive interactions sensitive to some spatial correlation length parameter inspired by the Beth-Uhlenbeck quantum mechanical nonideal gas model (Uhlenbeck and Beth, 1937). We confront the thermodynamics calculated using our model with a corresponding recent lattice data at four different values of the baryon chemical potential, μ b = 0 , 170 , 340 , 425 MeV over temperatures ranging from 130 MeV to 200 MeV and for five values for the correlation length ranging from 0 to 0.2 fm. For equilibrium temperatures up to the vicinity of the chiral phase transition temperature ≃160 MeV, a decent fitting between the model and the lattice data is observed for different values of r , especially at μ b , r = 170 , 0.05 , 340 , 0.1 , and 340 , 0.15 , where μ b is in MeV and r is in fm. For the vanishing chemical potential, the uncorrelated model r = 0 , which corresponds to the ideal hadron resonance gas model, seems to offer the best fit. The quantum hadron correlations seem to be more probable at nonvanishing chemical potentials, especially within the range μ b ∈ 170 , 340 MeV .

Dual simulation of a Polyakov loop model at finite baryon density: Phase diagram and local observables

Many Polyakov loop models can be written in a dual formulation which is free of sign problem even when a non-vanishing baryon chemical potential is introduced in the action. Here, results of numerical simulations of a dual representation of one such effective Polyakov loop model at finite baryon density are presented. We compute various local observables such as energy density, baryon density, quark condensate and describe in details the phase diagram of the model. The regions of the first order phase transition and the crossover, as well as the line of the second order phase transition, are established. We also compute several correlation functions of the Polyakov loops.

The QCD phase diagram and heavy ion collisions from lattice QCD

The QCD phase diagram is an important ingrediant to understand both the develpment of the early universe and the results of recent heavy ion collison experiments. At zero baryon density lattice QCD is an established tool, that provides precise theoretical results. Calculations at non zero densities however require new techniques to deal with the sign problem. In this talk I will review our recent effort to investigate QCD at non-vanishing baryon chemical potential.

First order dissipative hydrodynamics and viscous corrections to the entropy four-current from an effective covariant kinetic theory

The first order hydrodynamic evolution equations for the shear stress tensor, the bulk viscous pressure and the charge current have been studied for a system of quarks and gluons, with a non-vanishing quark chemical potential and finite quark mass. The first order transport coefficients have been obtained by solving an effective Boltzmann equation for the grand-canonical ensemble of quasiquarks and quasigluons. We adopted temperature dependent effective fugacity for the quasiparticles to encode the hot QCD medium effects. The non-trivial energy dispersion of the quasiparticles induces mean field contributions to the transport coefficients whose origin could be directly related to the realization of conservation laws from the effective kinetic theory. Both the QCD equation of state and chemical potential are seen to have a significant impact on the quark-gluon plasma evolution. The shear and bulk viscous corrections to the entropy-four current have been investigated in the framework of the effective kinetic theory. The effect of viscous corrections to the entropy density have been quantified in the case of one dimensional boost-invariant expansion of the system. Further, the first order viscous corrections to the time evolution of temperature along with the description of pressure anisotropy and Reynolds number of the system have been explored for the longitudinal boost-invariant expansion.

Holographic Abrikosov lattices

We study black hole solutions of D = 4 Einstein-Maxwell theory coupled to a charged scalar field that are holographically dual to a d = 3 conformal field theory with a non-vanishing chemical potential and constant magnetic field. We numerically construct black hole solutions that are dual to a superfluid phase with a periodic lattice of vortices. For the specific model we investigate, we find that the thermodynamically preferred con- figuration is given by a triangular lattice and moreover the vortices are associated with the lowest Landau level. We also construct black holes describing a lattice of vortices associated with the next to lowest Landau level and while these are not thermodynamically preferred they exhibit some interesting features that could be realised for other holographic models.

Toverline{T},Joverline{T},Toverline{J} partition sums from string theory

We calculate the torus partition sum of a general CFT2 with left and right moving conserved currents J and overline{J} , perturbed by a combination of the irrelevant operators Toverline{T},Joverline{T} and Toverline{J} . We use string theory techniques to write it as an integral transform of the partition sum of the unperturbed CFT with chemical potentials for the left and right moving conserved charges. The resulting expression transforms in the right way under the modular group, and reproduces the known spectrum of these models. We also derive a formula for the partition function of deformed CFT2 with non-vanishing chemical potentials.

Bose–Einstein condensation in two-dimensional traps

In two-dimensional traps, since the theoretical study of Bose–Einstein condensation will encounter the problem of divergence, the actual contribution of the divergent terms is often estimated in some indirect ways with the accuracy to the leading order. In this paper, by using an analytical continuation method to solve the divergence problem, we obtain the analytical expressions of critical temperature and condensate fraction for Bose gases in a 2D anisotropic box and harmonic trap, respectively. They are consistent with or better than previous studies. Then, we further consider the nonvanishing chemical potential, and obtain the expressions of chemical potential and more precise condensate fraction. These results agree with the numerical calculation well, especially for the case of harmonic traps. The comparison between the grand canonical and canonical ensembles shows that our calculation in the grand canonical ensemble is reliable.

O(3) nonlinear sigma model in 1+1 dimensions with matrix product states

We numerically study the spectral properties, the entanglement and the zero-temperature phase structure at nonvanishing chemical potential of the O(3) nonlinear sigma model. Using matrix product states, a particular kind of one-dimensional tensor network state, we show that we are able to reach the asymptotic scaling regime and to reproduce the analytical predictions for the mass gap at vanishing chemical potential. In addition, we study the scaling of the entanglement entropy towards the continuum limit obtaining a central charge consistent with 2. Moreover, our approach does not suffer from the sign problem and we also explore the phase structure of the model for nonzero chemical potential and map out the location of the transitions between different charge sectors with high precision.

Chiral magnetic effect without chirality source in asymmetric Weyl semimetals

We describe a new type of the Chiral Magnetic Effect (CME) that should occur in Weyl semimetals with an asymmetry in the dispersion relations of the left- and right-handed chiral Weyl fermions. In such materials, time-dependent pumping of electrons from a non-chiral external source generates a non-vanishing chiral chemical potential. This is due to the different capacities of the left- and right-handed (LH and RH) chiral Weyl cones arising from the difference in the density of states in the LH and RH cones. The chiral chemical potential then generates, via the chiral anomaly, a current along the direction of an applied magnetic field even in the absence of an external electric field. The source of chirality imbalance in this new setup is thus due to the band structure of the system and the presence of (non-chiral) electron source, and not due to the parallel electric and magnetic fields. We illustrate the effect by an argument based on the effective field theory, and by the chiral kinetic theory calculation for a rotationally invariant Weyl semimetal with different Fermi velocities in the left and right chiral Weyl cones; we also consider the case of a Weyl semimetal with Weyl nodes at different energies. We argue that this effect is generically present in Weyl semimetals with different dispersion relations for LH and RH chiral Weyl cones, such as SrSi2 recently predicted as a Weyl semimetal with broken inversion and mirror symmetries, as long as the chiral relaxation time is much longer than the transport scattering time.

SYK model, chaos and conserved charge

We study the SYK model with complex fermions, in the presence of an all-to-all q-body interaction, with a non-vanishing chemical potential. We find that, in the large q limit, this model can be solved exactly and the corresponding Lyapunov exponent can be obtained semi-analytically. The resulting Lyapunov exponent is a sensitive function of the chemical potential μ. Even when the coupling J, which corresponds to the disorder averaged values of the all to all fermion interaction, is large, values of μ which are exponentially small compared to J lead to suppression of the Lyapunov exponent.

Phase structure and propagators at nonvanishing temperature for QCD and QCD-like theories

We investigate the universality of truncation schemes for Dyson-Schwinger equations developed for quantum chromodynamics in theories which differ from quantum chromodynamics only in the gauge group. Our specific choices are the gauge groups $SU(2)$ and $G_2$, for which lattice calculations at nonvanishing chemical potential are possible. Thus, corresponding calculations can provide benchmarks for testing calculations with functional equations. We calculate the quark and gluon propagators and determine the chiral and dual chiral condensates at vanishing density to determine the confinement/deconfinement and chiral transitions, respectively. We can reproduce the expected type of transitions in the quenched and unquenched cases. In general, all three theories react very similarly to modifications of the employed model for the quark-gluon vertex.

Conserved charge fluctuations at vanishing and non-vanishing chemical potential

Up to 6th order cumulants of fluctuations of net baryon-number, net electric charge and net strangeness as well as correlations among these conserved charge fluctuations are now being calculated in lattice QCD. These cumulants provide a wealth of information on the properties of strong-interaction matter in the transition region from the low temperature hadronic phase to the quark-gluon plasma phase. They can be used to quantify deviations from hadron resonance gas (HRG) model calculations which frequently are used to determine thermal conditions realized in heavy ion collision experiments. Already some second order cumulants like the correlations between net baryon-number and net strangeness or net electric charge differ significantly at temperatures above 155 MeV in QCD and HRG model calculations. We show that these differences increase at non-zero baryon chemical potential constraining the applicability range of HRG model calculations to even smaller values of the temperature.

Fluctuation-induced modifications of the phase structure in ( 2+1 )-flavor QCD

The low-energy sector of QCD with $N_f = 2\!+\!1$ dynamical quark flavors at non-vanishing chemical potential and temperature is studied with a non-perturbative functional renormalization group method. The analysis is performed in different truncations in order to explore fluctuation-induced modifications of the quark-meson correlations as well as quark and meson propagators on the chiral phase transition of QCD. Depending on the chosen truncation significant quantitative implications on the phase transition are found. In the chirally symmetric phase, the quark flavor composition of the pseudoscalar $(\eta,\eta^{\prime})$-meson complex turns out to be drastically sensitive to fluctuation-induced modifications in the presence of the axial $U(1)_A$ anomaly. This has important phenomenological consequences for the assignment of chiral partners to these mesons.

Collective excitations of massive flavor branes

We study the intersections of two sets of D-branes of different dimensionalities. This configuration is dual to a supersymmetric gauge theory with flavor hypermultiplets in the fundamental representation of the gauge group which live on the defect of the unflavored theory determined by the directions common to the two types of branes. One set of branes is dual to the color degrees of freedom, while the other set adds flavor to the system. We work in the quenched approximation, i.e., where the flavor branes are considered as probes, and focus specifically on the case in which the quarks are massive. We study the thermodynamics and the speeds of first and zero sound at zero temperature and non-vanishing chemical potential. We show that the system undergoes a quantum phase transition when the chemical potential approaches its minimal value and we obtain the corresponding non-relativistic critical exponents that characterize its critical behavior. In the case of (2+1)-dimensional intersections, we further study alternative quantization and the zero sound of the resulting anyonic fluid. We finally extend these results to non-zero temperature and magnetic field and compute the diffusion constant in the hydrodynamic regime. The numerical results we find match the predictions by the Einstein relation.

Flavour fields in steady state: stress tensor and free energy

The dynamics of a probe brane in a given gravitational background is governed by the Dirac-Born-Infeld action. The corresponding open string metric arises naturally in studying the fluctuations on the probe. In Gauge-String duality, it is known that in the presence of a constant electric field on the worldvolume of the probe, the open string metric acquires an event horizon and therefore the fluctuation modes on the probe experience an effective temperature. In this article, we bring together various properties of such a system to a formal definition and a subsequent narration of the effective thermodynamics and the stress tensor of the corresponding flavour fields, also including a non-vanishing chemical potential. In doing so, we point out a potentially infinitely-degenerate scheme-dependence of regularizing the free energy, which nevertheless yields a universal contribution in certain cases. This universal piece appears as the coefficient of a log-divergence in free energy when a space-filling probe brane is embedded in AdS$_{d+1}$-background, for $d=2, 4$, and is related to conformal anomaly. For the special case of $d=2$, the universal factor has a striking resemblance to the well-known heat current formula in $(1+1)$-dimensional conformal field theory in steady-state, which endows a plausible physical interpretation to it. Interestingly, we observe a vanishing conformal anomaly in $d=6$.

On consistency of hydrodynamic approximation for chiral media

Abstract We consider chiral liquids, that is liquids consisting of massless fermions and right–left asymmetric. In such media, one expects existence of electromagnetic current flowing along an external magnetic field, associated with the chiral anomaly. The current is predicted to be dissipation-free. We consider dynamics of chiral liquids, concentrating on the issues of possible instabilities and infrared sensitivity. Instabilities arise, generally speaking, already in the limit of vanishing electromagnetic constant, α el → 0 . In particular, liquids with non-vanishing chiral chemical potential might decay into right–left asymmetric states containing vortices.