The QCD Critical End Point in the Context of the Polyakov--Nambu--Jona-Lasinio Model

TL;DR

This paper explores the phase diagram of the Polyakov--Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model at finite temperature and chemical potential, focusing on the critical end point and how strangeness and flavor-mixing influence its position.

Contribution

It provides new insights into how strangeness and flavor-mixing interactions affect the location and existence of the QCD critical end point within this model.

Findings

Strangeness influences the CEP location.

Weaker flavor-mixing shifts the CEP to lower temperatures.

The CEP can disappear with sufficiently weak flavor-mixing.

Abstract

We investigate the phase diagram of the so-called Polyakov--Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model at finite temperature and nonzero chemical potential with three quark flavors. Chiral and deconfinement phase transitions are discussed, and the relevant order-like parameters are analyzed. A special attention is payed to the critical end point (CEP): the influence of the strangeness on the location of the CEP is studied; also the strength of the flavor-mixing interaction alters the CEP location, once when it becomes weaker the CEP moves to low temperatures and can even disappear.