Study of QCD critical point using canonical ensemble method

TL;DR

This paper employs lattice simulations with the canonical ensemble method to investigate the QCD phase diagram at finite baryon density, aiming to locate the critical point through analysis of the baryon chemical potential and phase transition signals.

Contribution

It introduces a lattice simulation approach using the canonical ensemble to explore the QCD phase diagram and identify the critical point at non-zero baryon density.

Findings

Observation of the 'S-shape' in baryon chemical potential indicating a first order phase transition

Determination of the phase boundary using Maxwell construction

Preliminary results suggesting the location of the QCD critical point

Abstract

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. We use lattice simulations based on the canonical ensemble method to explore the finite baryon density region and look for the critical point. We scan the phase diagram of QCD with three degenerate quark flavors using clover fermions with $m_\pi \approx 700{MeV}$ on $6^3\times4$ lattices. We measure the baryon chemical potential as we increase the density and we see the characteristic "S-shape" that signals the first order phase transition. We determine the phase boundary by Maxwell construction and report our preliminary results for the location of critical point.