Topology in the $SU(N_f)$ chiral symmetry restored phase of unquenched QCD and axion cosmology

TL;DR

This paper explores the persistence of the $U(1)_A$ anomaly effects in the high-temperature, chiral symmetric phase of unquenched QCD, with implications for axion cosmology and heavy ion collision experiments.

Contribution

It demonstrates that the $U(1)_A$ anomaly effects survive in the chiral symmetric phase and analyzes their impact on susceptibilities and free energy behavior at high temperatures.

Findings

The free energy density is singular in the chiral limit at any $T \,\geq\, T_c$.

Susceptibilities $\sigma$ and $ar{\ ext{pi}}$ diverge in the chiral limit at $T \,\geq\, T_c$.

The difference between $ar{\ ext{pi}}$ and $ar{\text{delta}}$ susceptibilities diverges at $T \,\geq\, T_c$.

Abstract

The axion is one of the more interesting candidates to make the dark matter of the universe, and the axion potential plays a fundamental role in the determination of the dynamics of the axion field. Moreover, the way in which the $U(1)_A$ anomaly manifests itself in the chiral symmetry restored phase of $QCD$ at high temperature could be tested when probing the $QCD$ phase transition in relativistic heavy ion collisions. With these motivations, we investigate the physical consequences of the survival of the effects of the $U(1)_A$ anomaly in the chiral symmetric phase of $QCD$, and show that the free energy density is a singular function of the quark mass $m$, in the chiral limit, and that the $\sigma$ and $\bar\pi$ susceptibilities diverge in this limit at any $T\ge T_c$. We also show that the difference between the $\bar\pi$ and $\bar\delta$ susceptibilities diverges in the chiral limit at any $T\ge T_c$, a result that can be contrasted with the existing lattice calculations; and discuss on the generalization of these results to the $N_f\ge 3$ model.