We investigate the effects of isospin asymmetry on the competition between color-superconductivity and inhomogeneous chiral symmetry breaking in dense two-flavor quark matter using an extended Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model. We confirm the appearance of a coexistence window where chiral symmetry is inhomogeneously broken and a nonzero spatially homogeneous diquark gap is present, consistently with previous works, and show that such a phase survives at nonzero isospin chemical potentials. We also discuss how the model phase structure becomes modified as large isospin asymmetries are considered.
We investigate the effects of isospin asymmetry on inhomogeneous chiral symmetry breaking phases within the two-flavor NJL model. After introducing a plane-wave ansatz for each quark-flavor condensate, we find that, as long as their periodicities are enforced to be equal, a non-zero isospin chemical potential shrinks the size of the inhomogeneous phase. The asymmetry reached in charge neutral matter is nevertheless not excessively large, so that an inhomogeneous window is still present in the phase diagram. Lifting the constraint of equal periodicities alters the picture significantly, as the …
The properties of two-flavored massive Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model in (1+1)-dimensional spacetime are investigated in the presence of isospin and quark number chemical potentials. The consideration is performed in the large-$N_c$ limit, where $N_c$ is the number of colored quarks. It is shown in the framework of this model that charged pion condensation phenomenon of dense quark/hadron isotopically asymmetric matter is rather a spatially inhomogeneous than a homogeneous one.
In this talk I discuss the inhomogeneous (LOFF) color superconductive phases of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). In particular, I show the effect of a core of LOFF phase on the cooling of a compact star.
It has been shown in [32,33] in the framework of Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model with the assumption of spatially homogeneous condensates that in the large-$N_{c}$ limit ($N_{c}$ is the number of quark colours) there exist three dual symmetries of the thermodynamic potential, which describes dense quark matter with chiral and isospin imbalances. The main duality is between the chiral symmetry breaking and the charged pion condensation phenomena. There have been a lot of studies and hints that the ground state could be characterized by spatially inhomogeneous condensates, so the question arises if du…
We study the phase structure of the two-flavor Nambu--Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model in the chiral limit, extending a previous study of the competition of an inhomogeneous chiral phase and a two-flavor color-superconducting (2SC) phase [1, 2]. There, an analytic expression for the dispersion relations for quasiparticle excitations in the presence of both a particular inhomogeneous chiral condensate, the so-called chiral density wave (CDW), and a homogeneous 2SC condensate was found. In this work we show how to determine the dispersion relations for arbitrary modulations of the chiral condensate in t…
We discuss specific heat and neutrino emissivity due to direct Urca processes for quark matter in the color superconductive Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrell (LOFF) phase of Quantum-Chromodynamics. We assume that the three light quarks $u, d, s$ are in a color and electrically neutral state and interact by a four fermion Nambu-Jona Lasinio coupling. We study a LOFF state characterized by a single plane wave for each pairing. From the evaluation of neutrino emissivity and fermionic specific heat, the cooling rate of simplified models of compact stars with a quark core in the LOFF state is estima…
We discuss the possibility that in finite density QCD an anisotropic phase is realized. This case might arise for quarks with different chemical potential and/or different masses. In this phase crystalline structures may be formed. We consider this possibility and we describe, in the context of an effective lagrangian, the corresponding phonons as the Nambu-Goldstone bosons associated to the breaking of the space symmetries.
We use the Polyakov-loop extended two-flavor quark-meson model as a low-energy effective model for QCD to study 1) the possibility of inhomogeneous chiral condensates and its competition with a homogeneous pion condensate in the $μ$--$μ_I$ plane at $T=0$ and 2) the phase diagram in the $μ_I$--$T$ plane. In the $μ$--$μ_I$ plane, we find that an inhomogeneous chiral condensate only exists for pion masses lower that 37.1 MeV and does not coexist with a homogeneous pion condensate. In the $μ_I$--$T$ plane, we find that the phase transition to a Bose-condensed phase is of second order for all value…
We investigate neutral quark matter with homogeneous and inhomogeneous color condensates at finite temperature in the frame of an extended NJL model. By calculating the Meissner masses squared and gap susceptibility, the uniform color superconductor is stable only in a temperature window close to the critical temperature and becomes unstable against LOFF phase, mixed phase and gluonic phase at low temperatures. The introduction of the inhomogeneous phases leads to disappearance of the strange intermediate temperature 2SC/g2SC and changes the phase diagram of neutral dense quark matter signific…
In this paper we investigate the phase structure of a (1+1)-dimensional quark model with four-quark interaction and in the presence of baryon ($μ_B$), isospin ($μ_I$) and chiral isospin ($μ_{I5}$) chemical potentials. Spatially inhomogeneous chiral density wave (for chiral condensate) and single wave (for charged pion condensate) approaches are used. It is established that in the large-$N_c$ limit ($N_c$ is the number of colored quarks) there exists a duality correspondence between the chiral symmetry breaking phase and the charged pion condensation (PC) one. Moreover, it is shown that inhomog…
We study the $μ$-$μ_{45}$-$T$ phase diagram of the $2+1$-dimensional Gross-Neveu model, where $μ$ denotes the ordinary chemical potential, $μ_{45}$ the chiral chemical potential and $T$ the temperature. We use the mean-field approximation and two different lattice regularizations with naive chiral fermions. An inhomogeneous phase at finite lattice spacing is found for one of the two regularizations. Our results suggest that there is no inhomogeneous phase in the continuum limit. We show that a chiral chemical potential is equivalent to an isospin chemical potential. Thus, all results presented…
We investigate the effects of pion and gluon exchanges on the formation of two-flavor color superconductivity at moderate density, $μ<1 GeV$. The chiral quark model proposed by Manohar and Georgi containing pions as well as gluons is employed to show that the pion exchange reduces substantially the value of the superconducting gap gotten with the gluon exchange only. It turns out that the pion exchanges produce a repulsion between quark-quark pair in a spin and isospin singlet state. We suggest that the phase consisiting of pions, gluons and quarks is one of the candidates of in-medium QCD pha…
The effects of fluctuations are discussed around the phase boundary of the inhomogeneous chiral transition between the inhomogeneous chiral phase and the chiral-restored phase. The particular roles of thermal and quantum fluctuations are elucidated and a continuity of their effects across the phase boundary is suggested. In addition, it is argued that anomalies in the thermodynamic quantities should have phenomenological implications for the inhomogeneous chiral transition. Some common features for other phase transitions, such as those from the normal to the inhomogeneous Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin…
Inhomogeneous superconductivity arises when the species participating in the pairing phenomenon have different Fermi surfaces with a large enough separation. In these conditions it could be more favorable for each of the pairing fermions to stay close to its Fermi surface and, differently from the usual BCS state, for the Cooper pair to have a non zero total momentum. For this reason in this state the gap varies in space, the ground state is inhomogeneous and a crystalline structure might be formed. This situation was considered for the first time by Fulde, Ferrell, Larkin and Ovchinnikov, and…
We find that the chromomagnetic instability existing in neutral two- flavor color superconductivity at moderate densities is removed by the formation of an inhomogeneous condensate of charged gluons and the corresponding induction of a magnetic field. It is shown that this inhomogeneous ground state is energetically favored over a homogeneous one. The spontaneous induction of a magnetic field in a color superconductor at moderate densities can be of interest for the astrophysics of compact stellar objects exhibiting strong magnetic fields as magnetars.
The effects of chiral imbalance and external magnetic field on pion superfluidity and color superconductivity are investigated in extended Nambu--Jona-Lasinio models. We take Schwinger approach to treat the interaction between charged pion condensate and magnetic field at finite isospin density and include simultaneously the chiral imbalance and magnetic field at finite baryon density. For the superfluidity, the chiral imbalance and magnetic field lead to catalysis and inverse catalysis effects, respectively. For the superconductivity, the chiral imbalance enhances the critical baryon density,…
It is believed that quark matter can exist in neutron star interior if the baryon density is high enough. When there is a large isospin density, quark matter could be in a pion condensed phase. We compute neutrino emission from direct Urca processes in such a phase, particularly in the inhomogeneous Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrell (LOFF) states. The neutrino emissivity and specific heat are obtained, from which the cooling rate is estimated.
The two-dimensional, massless Gross-Neveu model with Nc colors and SU(2) isospin is studied analytically in the large Nc limit. The chiral SU(2)L X SU(2)R symmetry is broken spontaneously in the vacuum. Twisted kinks connecting two arbitrary points on the vacuum manifold S3 are constructed, and their properties are explored. The phase diagram as a function of temperature, baryon- and isospin chemical potential is discussed, with special emphasis on inhomogeneous phases. The preferred form of the condensate is a product of the real kink crystal and the chiral spiral. Kink-kink scattering is sol…
The color superconductivity was studied with an adaptation of the Nambu and Jona-Lasinio model (NJL). This one was coupled to a Polyakov loop, to form the PNJL model. A $μ$-dependent Polyakov loop potential was considered. An objective of the presented works was to describe the analytical calculations required to establish the equations to be solved, in all of the treated cases. They concerned the normal quark phase, the 2-flavor color-superconducting and the color-flavor-locked phases, in an SU(3)f X SU(3)c description. The calculations were performed according to the temperature T, the chemi…
QCD at finite isospin chemical potential mu_I is studied. This theory has no fermion sign problem and can be simulated on the lattice using present-day techniques. We solve this theory analytically in two limits: low mu_I where chiral perturbation theory is applicable, and asymptotically high mu_I where perturbative QCD is at work. At low isospin density the ground state is a superfluid pion condensate. At very high density it is a Fermi liquid with Cooper pairing. The pairs carry the same quantum numbers as the pions. Motivated by this observation, we put forward a conjecture that the transit…
We use 2-color QCD as a model to study the effects of simultaneous presence of chemical potentials for isospin charge, $μ_I$, and for baryon number, $μ_B$. We determine the phase diagrams for 2 and 4 flavor theories using the method of effective chiral Lagrangians at low densities and weak coupling perturbation theory at high densities. We determine the values of various condensates and densities as well as the spectrum of excitations as functions of $μ_I$ and $μ_B$. A similar analysis of QCD with quarks in the adjoint representation is also presented. Our results can be of relevance for latti…
The phase diagram of the two-dimensional Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model with isospin is explored in the large Nc limit with semiclassical methods. We consider finite temperature and include chemical potentials for all conserved charges. In the chiral limit, a full analytical solution is presented, expressed in terms of known results for the single-flavor Gross-Neveu and Nambu--Jona-Lasinio models. A novel crystalline structure appears and is shown explicitly to be thermodynamically more stable than the homogeneous phase at zero temperature. If we include a bare fermion mass, the problem reduces aga…
The chiral condensate, which is constant in vacuum, may become spatially modulated at moderately high densities where in the traditional picture of the QCD phase diagram a first-order chiral phase transition occurs. We review the current status of this idea, which originally dates back to Migdal's pion condensation, but recently received new momentum through studies on the nature of the chiral critical point and by the conjecture of a quarkyonic-matter phase. We discuss how these nonuniform phases emerge in generalized Ginzburg-Landau analyses as well as in specific calculations, both within e…
We investigate pion superfluidity and its effect on meson properties and equation of state at finite temperature and isospin and baryon densities in the frame of standard flavor SU(2) NJL model. In mean field approximation to quarks and random phase approximation to mesons, the critical isospin chemical potential for pion superfluidity is exactly the pion mass in the vacuum, and corresponding to the isospin symmetry spontaneous breaking, there is in the pion superfluidity phase a Goldstone mode which is the linear combination of the normal sigma and charged pion modes. We calculate numerically…
We show that in a sufficiently strong magnetic field the QCD vacuum may undergo a transition to a new phase where charged $ρ^\pm$ mesons are condensed. In this phase the vacuum behaves as an anisotropic inhomogeneous superconductor which supports superconductivity along the axis of the magnetic field. In the directions transverse to the magnetic field the superconductivity is absent. The magnetic-field-induced anisotropic superconductivity -- which is realized in the cold vacuum, i.e. at zero temperature and density -- is a consequence of a nonminimal coupling of the $ρ$ mesons to the electrom…
In this talk we present investigation of the phase structure of a (1+1)-dimensional quark model with four-quark interaction and in the presence of baryon ($μ_B$), isospin ($μ_I$) and chiral isospin ($μ_{I5}$) chemical potentials. Spatially homogeneous and inhomogeneous (chiral density wave (for chiral condensate) and single wave (for charged pion condensate)) condensates are considered. It is established that in the large-$N_c$ limit ($N_c$ is the number of colored quarks) there exists a duality correspondence between the chiral symmetry breaking phase and the charged pion condensation one. Th…
It is believed that there exists a rich phase structure of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) at finite temperature and baryon density, namely, the deconfinement process from hadron gas to quark-gluon plasma, the transition from chiral symmetry breaking phase to the symmetry restoration phase, and the color superconductivity at low temperature and high baryon density. In the present work we study the hadron-quark phase transition by investigating the binodal surface and extending it to finite temperature in order to mimic the QCD phase diagram. In order to obtain these conditions we use different mo…
We present a general framework for analyzing inhomogeneous (color-) superconducting phases in mean-field approximation without restriction to the Ginzburg-Landau approach. As a first application, we calculate real gap functions with general one-dimensional periodic structures for a 3+1-dimensional toy model having two fermion species. The resulting solutions are energetically favored against homogeneous superconducting (BCS) and normal conducting phases in a window for the chemical potential difference which is about twice as wide as for the most simple plane-wave ansatz ("Fulde-Ferrell phase"…
We consider thermal strongly-coupled N=2 SYM theory with fundamental matter at finite isospin chemical potential. Using gauge/gravity duality, i.e. a probe of two flavor D7-branes embedded in the AdS black hole background, we find a critical temperature at which the system undergoes a second order phase transition. The critical exponent of this transition is one half and coincides with the result from mean field theory. In the thermodynamically favored phase, a flavor current acquires a vev and breaks an Abelian symmetry spontaneously. This new phase shows signatures known from superconductivi…
Axial anomaly and nesting is elucidated in the context of the inhomogeneous chiral phase. Using the Gross-Neveu models in 1+1 dimensions, we shall discuss axial anomaly and nesting from two different points of view: one is homogeneous chiral transition and the other is the Ferrel-Fulde-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state in superconductivity, which are closely related to each other by way of duality. It is shown that axial anomaly leads to a particular kind of the FFLO state within the two dimensional Nambu-Jona Lasinio model, where axial anomaly is manifested in a different mode. Nesting is a dri…
Using an extended Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model as a low--energy effective model of QCD, we show that the vacuum in a strong external magnetic field (stronger than 10^{16} Tesla) experiences a spontaneous phase transition to an electromagnetically superconducting state. The unexpected superconductivity of, basically, empty space is induced by emergence of quark-antiquark vector condensates with quantum numbers of electrically charged rho mesons. The superconducting phase possesses an anisotropic inhomogeneous structure similar to a periodic Abrikosov lattice in a type-II superconductor. The superc…
We derive exact constraints relating QCD at nonzero baryon chemical potential and temperature to QCD at nonzero isospin chemical potential and temperature, a theory which can be simulated by conventional methods. These results challenge the consistency of dynamical models of superconductivity and superfluidity in QCD.
A superconductor is a material that conducts electric current with no resistance. Superconductivity and magnetism are known to be antagonistic phenomena: superconductors expel weak external magnetic field (the Meissner effect) while a sufficiently strong magnetic field, in general, destroys superconductivity. In a seemingly contradictory statement, we show that a very strong magnetic field can turn an empty space into a superconductor. The external magnetic field required for this effect should be about 10^{16} Tesla (eB ~ 1 GeV^2). The physical mechanism of the exotic vacuum superconductivity…
An increasing number of model results suggests that chiral symmetry is broken inhomogeneously in a certain window at intermediate densities in the QCD phase diagram. This could have significant effects on the properties of compact stars, possibly leading to new astrophysical signatures. In this contribution we discuss this idea by reviewing recent results on inhomogeneous chiral symmetry breaking under an astrophysics-oriented perspective. After introducing two commonly studied spatial modulations of the chiral condensate, the chiral density wave and the real kink crystal, we focus on their pr…
