Field Theoretical Approach to the Phases of QCD

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dc.contributor.advisorRatti, Claudia
dc.contributor.committeeMemberBellwied, Rene
dc.contributor.committeeMemberOrdóñez, Carlos R.
dc.contributor.committeeMemberVilalta, Ricardo
dc.creatorPortillo Vazquez, Israel 1983-
dc.creator.orcid0000-0001-7774-3521
dc.date.accessioned2020-01-08T02:58:45Z
dc.date.createdMay 2019
dc.date.issued2019-05
dc.date.submittedMay 2019
dc.date.updated2020-01-08T02:58:46Z
dc.description.abstractThe study of the phases of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), at finite temperature (T) and baryon chemical potential (mu_B), is one of the biggest challenges in theoretical physics and represents a significant step towards understanding the collective behavior of the strong force. The non-perturbative region of QCD, where atomic matter dissolves into a Quark-Gluon-Plasma state, can only be studied from first principles by numerical lattice simulations. These studies have established that the transition is a smooth crossover. It is expected that, as mu_B increases, the crossover sharpens into a critical-end-point (CEP) where a first order phase transition begins. However, due to the fermion sign problem, calculations on the lattice cannot be performed at real $\muB$. On the experimental side, efforts are being made at heavy-ion colliders (HICs) to probe high regions of mu_B in search for the CEP. To support these efforts, alternative theoretical frameworks are required to relate those experiments to the phases of QCD. This dissertation is devoted to exploring the high mu_B-region of QCD. First, I will analyze the lower order baryonic susceptibilities simulated on the lattice at imaginary-mu_B to calculate the higher order ones at mu_B. Those susceptibilities allow one to have access to a finite mu_B, by Taylor expanding the QCD thermodynamical potential around mu_B, and to make a direct connection with the distribution of conserved charges measured in HICs. The second part of this thesis uses a model based on the gauge/string duality to engineer holographic black holes that mimic the equation of state of QCD obtained on the lattice at mu_B and predicts its behavior at finite mu_B. Our black hole model provides a realistic prediction of the existence of a CEP in the phase diagram of QCD, located at mu_B^{CEP}=724 MeV and T_{CEP}=89 MeV. It reproduces the baryon susceptibilities calculated on the lattice at mu_B=0 and predicts them at arbitrary mu_B. Finally, the analysis made with the holographic model leads to predict the collision energy needed to hit the CEP in HICs, which is within the range of the next generation of colliders.
dc.description.departmentPhysics, Department of
dc.format.digitalOriginborn digital
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationPortions of this document appear in: Borsanyi, Szabolcs, Zoltan Fodor, Jana N. Guenther, Sandor K. Katz, Attila Pasztor, Israel Portillo, Claudia Ratti, and K. K. Szabó. "Higher order fluctuations and correlations of conserved charges from lattice QCD." Journal of High Energy Physics 2018, no. 10 (2018): 205. And in: Critelli, Renato, Jorge Noronha, Jacquelyn Noronha-Hostler, Israel Portillo, Claudia Ratti, and Romulo Rougemont. "Critical point in the phase diagram of primordial quark-gluon matter from black hole physics." Physical Review D 96, no. 9 (2017): 096026. And in: Portillo, Israel. "Locating the QCD critical point using holographic black holes." In Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Proceedings, vol. 10, no. 1, p. 40. 2019. And in: Critelli, Renato, Jorge Noronha, Jacquelyn Noronha-Hostler, Israel Portillo, Claudia Ratti, and Romulo Rougemont. "Critical point in the phase diagram of primordial quark-gluon matter from black hole physics." Physical Review D 96, no. 9 (2017): 096026.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10657/5846
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. UH Libraries has secured permission to reproduce any and all previously published materials contained in the work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).
dc.subjectQCD phase diagram
dc.subjectNuclear physics
dc.subjectParticle physics
dc.subjectQuark-gluon plasma
dc.subjectLattice QCD
dc.titleField Theoretical Approach to the Phases of QCD
dc.type.dcmiText
dc.type.genreThesis
local.embargo.lift2021-05-01
local.embargo.terms2021-05-01
thesis.degree.collegeCollege of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
thesis.degree.departmentPhysics, Department of
thesis.degree.disciplinePhysics
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Houston
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy

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