Lattice QCD at finite T and \mu and the critical point of QCD

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method for studying lattice QCD at finite temperature and chemical potential, compares it with existing approaches, and locates the critical endpoint of QCD using dynamical quarks on small lattices.

Contribution

It proposes a novel approach to analyze lattice QCD at finite T and nd nd compares it with established methods, successfully locating the QCD critical endpoint.

Findings

Identified the critical endpoint of QCD on the - plane.

Validated the new method against the Glasgow method and direct results.

Used n_f=2+1 dynamical staggered quarks on L_t=4 lattices.

Abstract

We propose a method to study lattice QCD at finite T and \mu. We compare it with direct results and with the Glasgow method by using n_f=4 QCD at Im(\mu)\neq 0. We locate the critical endpoint (E) of QCD on the Re(\mu)-T plane. In this study we use n_f=2+1 dynamical staggered quarks with semi-realistic masses on L_t=4 lattices.