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Asymptotic deconfinement in high-density QCD.
D H Rischke1, D T Son, M A Stephanov
1Nuclear Theory Group, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|August 11, 2001
Summary
At high baryon densities, color superconductivity in QCD partially breaks the SU(3) group. The remaining SU(2) group exhibits an exponentially soft confinement scale, leading to asymptotic deconfinement.
Area of Science:
- Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD)
- High-energy physics
- Condensed matter physics
Background:
- QCD describes the strong nuclear force.
- At high baryon densities, color superconductivity is expected.
- SU(3) symmetry breaking is a key phenomenon.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate QCD with two light flavors at large baryon chemical potential.
- Analyze the effects of color superconductivity on the SU(3) group.
- Determine the infrared physics and confinement scale.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical analysis of QCD under extreme conditions.
- Modeling color superconductivity and its impact on symmetry groups.
- Derivation of the confinement scale using gluodynamics.
Main Results:
- Color superconductivity partially breaks the color SU(3) group.
- The infrared physics is governed by SU(2) gluodynamics.
- An exponentially soft confinement scale, Lambda(QCD) ~ Delta exp[-a(mu)/(gDelta)], emerges.
- Confinement radius increases exponentially with density, causing 'asymptotic deconfinement'.
Conclusions:
- QCD at high baryon densities exhibits unique properties due to color superconductivity.
- The system transitions to a state governed by SU(2) gluodynamics.
- Asymptotic deconfinement is a significant consequence of increasing baryon density.