Anomalous superfluidity in (2+1)-dimensional two-color lattice QCD

Area of Science:

• * Condensed Matter Physics
• * Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD)
• * Statistical Mechanics

Background:

• * Investigating the thermodynamics of strongly coupled lattice QCD with two colors of staggered fermions in 2+1 dimensions.
• * The partition function is elegantly represented as a statistical mechanics model of dimers and baryon loops.
• * The model exhibits an SO(3) x U(1) symmetry.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To explore the thermodynamic properties and phase transitions of a two-color lattice QCD model.
• * To understand the role of SO(3) and U(1) symmetries in the emergence of superfluidity.
• * To investigate the cause of anomalous superfluid density jumps.

Main Methods:

• * Lattice QCD simulations with two-color staggered fermions.
• * Analysis of the partition function using dimer and baryon loop models.
• * Examination of symmetry breaking effects on thermodynamic properties.

Main Results:

• * Evidence for superfluidity in the U(1) symmetry sector at low temperatures, with SO(3) remaining unbroken.
• * The finite temperature phase transition aligns with the Kosterlitz-Thouless universality class.
• * An anomalously high superfluid density jump (rho(s)) at the critical temperature (T(c)) was observed, exceeding the expected 2T(c)/pi value.

Conclusions:

• * The presence of the SO(3) symmetry leads to anomalous superfluid behavior.
• * Introducing a small SO(3) symmetry-breaking term normalizes the superfluid density jump.
• * Results offer insights into superfluidity in spin-1 systems and strongly correlated matter.