How parameters and regularization affect the PNJL model phase diagram and thermodynamic quantities

TL;DR

This paper investigates how parameters and regularization influence the phase diagram and thermodynamics in the PNJL model, demonstrating its effectiveness in describing QCD critical behavior and matching lattice data.

Contribution

It introduces an improved PNJL model with specific parameter choices and analyzes the impact of regularization on thermodynamic predictions, aligning with lattice results.

Findings

Proper parameter selection is crucial for accurate isentropic trajectories.

Regularization procedures significantly affect thermodynamic quantities.

The model successfully reproduces lattice QCD data near the critical end point.

Abstract

We explore the phase diagram and the critical behavior of QCD thermodynamic quantities in the context of the so-called Polyakov--Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model. We show that this improved field theoretical model is a successful candidate for studying the equation of state and the critical behavior around the critical end point. We argue that a convenient choice of the model parameters is crucial to get the correct description of isentropic trajectories. The effects of the regularization procedure in several thermodynamic quantities is also analyzed. The results are compared with simple thermodynamic expectations and lattice data.