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Kertész line and embedded monopoles in QCD
1Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, B. Cheremushkinskaya 25, Moscow, 117259, Russia.
Physical Review Letters
|December 31, 2005
Summary
We introduce embedded QCD monopoles, novel defects in quantum chromodynamics. These monopoles proliferate in the quark-gluon plasma, marking a phase transition boundary.
Area of Science:
- High Energy Physics
- Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD)
Background:
- Understanding the phases of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) is crucial for particle physics.
- The transition between the hadronic and quark-gluon plasma phases is typically described as a smooth crossover.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a new class of gauge-invariant defects in QCD, termed "embedded QCD monopoles."
- To investigate the behavior and implications of these embedded QCD monopoles in different QCD phases.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical proposal of embedded QCD monopoles, analogous to Nambu monopoles in electroweak theory.
- Analysis of monopole proliferation in the quark-gluon plasma and hadronic phases.
Main Results:
- Embedded QCD monopoles are explicitly gauge invariant and resemble Nambu monopoles.
- These monopoles proliferate in the quark-gluon plasma phase but are suppressed in the hadronic phase.
Conclusions:
- The proliferation of embedded QCD monopoles signifies a distinct boundary between QCD phases.
- This boundary, analogous to the Kertész line, is associated with the onset of monopole proliferation in the quark-gluon plasma.