Skyrmions at finite density and temperature: the chiral phase transition

TL;DR

This paper uses the Skyrme model to study how dense matter transitions to a chirally symmetric phase at finite temperature and density, aligning theoretical predictions with expected phase diagram features.

Contribution

It combines skyrmion crystal structures and pion fluctuations to model the chiral phase transition in dense matter, providing a unified description.

Findings

Critical temperatures and densities match expected values

Chiral symmetry restoration occurs at predicted phase boundaries

Skyrmion and pion mechanisms jointly explain phase transition

Abstract

The Skyrme model, an effective low energy theory rooted in large $N_c$ QCD, has been applied to the study of dense matter. Matter is described by various crystal structures of skyrmions. When this system is heated, the dominating thermal degrees of freedom are the fluctuating pions. Taking these mechanisms jointly produces a description of the chiral phase transition leading to the conventional phase diagram with critical temperatures and densities in agreement with expected values.