Toward the application of large-$N$ deconfinement to SU(3) QCD

TL;DR

This paper explores how large-$N$ deconfinement concepts can be applied to SU(3) QCD, revealing possible intermediate phases and analyzing finite-temperature effects on gauge configurations.

Contribution

It extends large-$N$ deconfinement ideas to SU(3) QCD, providing new insights into phase structure and finite-temperature gauge configuration deviations.

Findings

Identification of intermediate phases in SU(3) QCD

Analysis of finite-temperature effects on gauge configurations

Comparison with large-$N$ theoretical predictions

Abstract

It is generally known for $\mathrm{U}(N)$ gauge theory at finite temperature that phase transitions are manifested by taking the large-$N$ limit. Since the large-$N$ theory undergoes two thermodynamic phase transitions, a nontrivial intermediate phase can be realized in addition to the phases classified as the conventional confined and deconfined phases. In this talk, we discuss that a similar picture can be applied to QCD with $N=3$. In particular, we analyze the gauge configurations of lattice QCD calculations involving dynamical quarks and show the results of an analysis of the deviation due to finite-temperature effects from the Haar randomness expected at zero temperature in $\mathrm{SU}(N)$ gauge theory, using physical pictures suggested by the large-$N$ theory.