Ginzburg-Landau phase diagram of QCD near chiral critical point - chiral defect lattice and solitonic pion condensate -

TL;DR

This paper explores how isospin asymmetry affects the phase structure of quark matter near the chiral critical point, revealing new spatially varying pion condensate phases using a Ginzburg-Landau approach.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of solitonic pion condensate and chiral defect lattice phases, expanding understanding of QCD phase diagram near the critical point.

Findings

Isospin asymmetry shifts the critical point.

Discovery of solitonic pion condensate phase.

Identification of chiral defect lattice phase.

Abstract

We investigate the influence of the isospin asymmetry on the phase structure of quark matter near the chiral critical point systematically using a generalized version of Ginzburg-Landau approach. The effect has proven to be so profound that it brings about not only a shift of the critical point but also a rich variety of phases in its neighborhood. In particular, there shows up a phase with spatially varying charged pion condensate which we name the "solitonic pion condensate" in addition to the "chiral defect lattice" where the chiral condensate is partially destructed by periodic placements of two-dimensional wall-like defects. Our results suggest that there may be an island of solitonic pion condensate in the low temperature and high density side of QCD phase diagram.