SU(2) Lattice Gauge Theory at Nonzero Chemical Potential and Temperature

TL;DR

This study uses lattice simulations to explore phase transitions in SU(2) gauge theory with four quark flavors at varying temperature and chemical potential, revealing detailed phase structure and transitions.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed lattice simulation analysis of SU(2) gauge theory at nonzero chemical potential and temperature, comparing results with Effective Lagrangian predictions.

Findings

Zero T: second order phase transition to diquark condensate

Low T: increasing mu induces second order transitions to diquark phase

High mu and T: first order transition to quark-gluon plasma

Abstract

SU(2) lattice gauge theory with four flavors of quarks is simulated at nonzero chemical potential mu and temperature T and the results are compared to the predictions of Effective Lagrangians. Simulations on 16^4 lattices indicate that at zero T the theory experiences a second order phase transition to a diquark condensate state which is well described by mean field theory. Nonzero T and mu are studied on 12^3 times 6 lattices. For low T, increasing mu takes the system through a line of second order phase transitions to a diquark condensed phase. Increasing T at high mu, the system passes through a line of first order transitions from the diquark phase to the quark-gluon plasma phase.