The role of strangeness in chiral and restoration

We use recently derived Ward identities and lattice data for the light- and strange-quark condensates to reconstruct the scalar and pseudoscalar susceptibilities ( $$ , $$ ) in the isospin 1/2 channel. We show that $$ develops a maximum above the QCD chiral transition, after which it degenerates with $$ . We also obtain $$ within Unitarized Chiral Perturbation Theory (UChPT) at finite temperature, when it is saturated with the $$ (or $$ ) meson, the dominant lowest-energy state in the isospin 1/2 scalar channel of $$ scattering. Such UChPT result reproduces the expected peak structure, revealing the importance of thermal interactions, and makes it possible to examine the $$ dependence on the light- and strange-quark masses. A consistent picture emerges controlled by the $$ ratio that allows one studying $$ degeneration in the chiral, two-flavor and SU(3) limits. These results provide an alternative sign for $$ restoration that can be explored in lattice simulations and highlight the role of strangeness, which regulated by the strange-quark condensate helps to reconcile the current tension among lattice results regarding $$ restoration.