Chiral Symmetry Restoration using the Running Coupling Constant from the Light-Front Approach to QCD

TL;DR

This paper investigates chiral symmetry restoration in QCD by analyzing quark-antiquark interactions using a light-front approach, focusing on the role of the running coupling constant and a key mass scale parameter.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to connect the running coupling in light-front QCD with confinement and chiral symmetry restoration through a specific mass scale parameter.

Findings

The model fits proton-proton total cross sections effectively.

The mass scale parameter influences quark-antiquark separation and free quark emergence.

Chiral symmetry restoration conditions are linked to the running coupling dynamics.

Abstract

In this work, the distance between a quark-antiquark pair is analyzed through both the confinement potential as well as the hadronic total cross section. Using the Helmholtz free energy, entropy is calculated near the minimum of the total cross section through the confinement potential. A fitting procedure for the proton-proton total cross section is performed, defining the fitting parameters. Therefore, the only free parameter remaining in the model is the mass scale $\kappa$ used to define the running coupling constant of the light-front approach to QCD. The mass scale controls the distance $r$ between the quark-antiquark pair and, under some conditions, it allows the occurrence of free quarks even in the confinement regime of QCD.