Can we study Quark Matter in the Quenched Approximation?

TL;DR

This paper investigates quenched SU(2) lattice gauge theory using a gauge-Higgs model to study quark properties at non-zero chemical potential, finding no evidence of deconfinement or Fermi surface behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to distinguish timelike and spacelike gauge fields in quenched lattice simulations and analyzes quark propagation under these conditions.

Findings

Inter-quark interaction strength can be tuned via model parameters.

No signs of quark deconfinement observed in the studied parameter space.

Thermodynamic observables do not indicate Fermi surface formation.

Abstract

We study a quenched SU(2) lattice gauge theory in which, in an attempt to distinguish between timelike and spacelike gauge fields, the gauge ensemble {U_mu} is generated from a 3 dimensional gauge-Higgs model, the timelike link variables being "reconstructed" from the Higgs fields. The resulting ensemble is used to study quenched quark propagation with non-zero chemical potential mu; in particular, the quark density, chiral and superfluid condensates, meson, baryon and gauge-fixed quark propagators are all studied as functions of mu. While it proves possible to alter the strength of the inter-quark interaction by changing the parameters of the dimensionally reduced model, there is no evidence for any region of parameter space where quarks exhibit deconfined behaviour or thermodynamic observables scale as if there were a Fermi surface.