A holographic critical point

TL;DR

This paper constructs a holographic model of black holes that mimics QCD phase transitions, identifying a critical point with mean-field critical exponents at finite temperature and chemical potential.

Contribution

It introduces a holographic black hole model that reproduces QCD-like phase transition behavior and characterizes the critical endpoint with calculated critical exponents.

Findings

Black holes exhibit a line of first-order phase transitions ending at a critical point.

The model's equation of state matches lattice QCD data at zero chemical potential.

Critical exponents are consistent with mean-field theory.

Abstract

We numerically construct a family of five-dimensional black holes exhibiting a line of first-order phase transitions terminating at a critical point at finite chemical potential and temperature. These black holes are constructed so that the equation of state and baryon susceptibilities approximately match QCD lattice data at vanishing chemical potential. The critical endpoint in the particular model we consider has temperature 143 MeV and chemical potential 783 MeV. Critical exponents are calculated, with results that are consistent with mean-field scaling relations.