The Deconfinement Transition of QCD


Book Description

In the last few years, numerical simulations of QCD on the lattice have reached a new level of accuracy. A wide range of thermodynamic quantities is now available in the continuum limit and for physical quark masses. This allows a comparison with measurements from heavy ion collisions for the first time. Furthermore, calculations of dynamical quantities are also becoming available. The combined effort from first principles and experiment allows to gain an unprecedented understanding of the properties of quark-gluon plasma. This concise text, geared towards postgraduate students and newcomers to the field, carefully introduces and reviews the state-of-the-art techniques and results from lattice simulations and connects them to the experimental information from RHIC and the LHC. ​




Application of Integrable Systems to Phase Transitions


Book Description

The eigenvalue densities in various matrix models in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) are ultimately unified in this book by a unified model derived from the integrable systems. Many new density models and free energy functions are consequently solved and presented. The phase transition models including critical phenomena with fractional power-law for the discontinuities of the free energies in the matrix models are systematically classified by means of a clear and rigorous mathematical demonstration. The methods here will stimulate new research directions such as the important Seiberg-Witten differential in Seiberg-Witten theory for solving the mass gap problem in quantum Yang-Mills theory. The formulations and results will benefit researchers and students in the fields of phase transitions, integrable systems, matrix models and Seiberg-Witten theory.







Phase Transitions in the Early Universe: Theory and Observations


Book Description

A fundamental, profound review of the key issues relating to the early universe and the physical processes that occurred in it. The interplay between cosmic microwave background radiation, large scale structure, and the dark matter problem are stressed, with a central focus on the crucial issue of the phase transitions in the early universe and their observable consequences: baryon symmetry, baryogenesis and cosmological fluctuations. There is an interplay between cosmology, statistical physics and particle physics in studying these problems, both at the theoretical and the experimental / observational levels. Special contributions are devoted to primordial and astrophysical black holes and to high energy cosmic rays and neutrino astrophysics. There is also a special section devoted to the International Space Station and its scientific utilization.




The Phases of Quantum Chromodynamics


Book Description

This book discusses the physical phases of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) in ordinary environments and also in extreme environments of high temperatures and high baryon number. It introduces lattice gauge theory, covering fundamentals and important developments, and emphasises the application of QCD to the study of matter in extreme environments.




The Interacting Boson Model


Book Description

This book gives an account of the properties of the interacting boson model.







Understanding Quantum Phase Transitions


Book Description

Quantum phase transitions (QPTs) offer wonderful examples of the radical macroscopic effects inherent in quantum physics: phase changes between different forms of matter driven by quantum rather than thermal fluctuations, typically at very low temperatures. QPTs provide new insight into outstanding problems such as high-temperature superconductivit







Phase Transitions


Book Description