Ariel R. Zhitnitsky

QCD - like theories at finite baryon density

Abstract We study QCD-like theories with pseudoreal fermions at finite baryon density. Such theories include two-color QCD with quarks in the fundamental representation of the color group as well as any-color QCD with quarks in the adjoint color representation. In all such theories the lightest baryons are diquarks. At zero chemical potential μ they are, together with the pseudoscalar mesons, the Goldstone modes of a spontaneously broken enlarged chiral symmetry group. Using symmetry principles, we derive the low-energy effective Lagrangian for these particles. We find that a second order phase transition occurs at a value of μ equal to half the mass of the Goldstone modes. For values of μ beyond this point the scalar diquarks Bose condense and the diquark condensate is nonzero. We calculate the dependence of the chiral condensate, the diquark condensate, the baryon charge density, and the masses of the diquark and pseudoscalar excitations on μ at finite bare quark mass and scalar diquark source. The relevance of our results to lattice QCD calculations and to real three-color QCD at finite baryon density is discussed.

The cosmological constant from the QCD Veneziano ghost

Abstract We suggest that the solution to the cosmological vacuum energy puzzle is linked to the infrared sector of the effective theory of gravity interacting with standard model fields, with QCD fields specifically. We work in the framework of low energy quantum gravity as an effective field theory. In particular, we compute the vacuum energy in terms of QCD parameters and the Hubble constant H such that the vacuum energy is ϵ vac ∼ H ⋅ m q 〈 q ¯ q 〉 / m η ′ ∼ ( 3.6 ⋅ 10 − 3 eV ) 4 , which is amazingly close to the observed value today. The QCD ghost (responsible for the solution of the U ( 1 ) A problem) plays a crucial role in the computation of the vacuum energy, because the ghosts properties at very large but finite distances slightly deviate (as ∼ H / Λ QCD ) from their infinite volume Minkowski values. Another important prediction of this framework states that the vacuum energy owes its existence to the asymmetry of the cosmos. Indeed, this effect is a direct consequence of the embedding of our Universe on a non-trivial manifold such as a torus with (slightly) different linear sizes. Such a violation of cosmological isotropy is apparently indeed supported by WMAP, and will be confirmed (or ruled out) by future PLANCK data.

Cosmological constant from the ghost: A toy model

We suggest that the solution to the cosmological vacuum energy puzzle is linked to the infrared sector of the effective theory of gravity interacting with standard model fields. We propose a specific solvable two dimensional model where our proposal can be explicitly tested. We analyze the 2d Schwinger model on a 2-torus and in curved 2d space, mostly exploiting the properties of its topological susceptibility, its links with the nontrivial topology or deviations from spacetime flatness, and its relations to the real 4d world. The Kogut-Susskind ghost (which is a direct analogue of the Veneziano ghost in 4d) on a 2-torus and in curved 2d space plays a crucial role in the computation of the vacuum energy. The departure from Minkowski flatness, which is defined as the cosmological constant in our framework, is found to scale as 1/L, where L is the linear size of the torus. Therefore, in spite of the fact that the physical sector of 2d QED is represented by a single massive scalar particle, the deviation from Minkowski space is linear in L rather than exponentially suppressed as one could naievely expect.

`Nonbaryonic' dark matter as baryonic colour superconductor

We discuss a novel cold dark matter candidate which is formed from the ordinary quarks during the QCD phase transition when the axion domain wall undergoes an unchecked collapse due to the tension in the wall. If a large number of quarks is trapped inside the bulk of a closed axion domain wall, the collapse stops due to the internal Fermi pressure. In this case, the system in the bulk may reach the critical density when it undergoes a phase transition to a colour superconducting phase with the ground state being the quark condensate, similar to the Cooper pairs in BCS theory. If this happens, the new state of matter representing the diquark condensate with a large baryon number B~1032 becomes a stable soliton-like configuration. Consequently, it may serve as a novel cold dark matter candidate.

Neutron Stars as Type-I Superconductors

In a recent paper by Link, it was pointed out that the standard picture of the neutron star core composed of a mixture of a neutron superfluid and a proton type-II superconductor is inconsistent with observations of a long period precession in isolated pulsars. In the following we will show that an appropriate treatment of the interacting two-component superfluid (made of neutron and proton Cooper pairs), when the structure of proton vortices is strongly modified, may dramatically change the standard picture, resulting in a type-I superconductor. In this case the magnetic field is expelled from the superconducting regions of the neutron star, leading to the formation of the intermediate state when alternating domains of superconducting matter and normal matter coexist.

511 keV Photons from Color Superconducting Dark Matter

We discuss the possibility that the recent detection of 511 keV gamma rays from the galactic bulge, as observed by the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, can be naturally explained by the supermassive very dense droplets (strangelets) of dark matter. These droplets are assumed to be made of ordinary light quarks (or antiquarks) condensed in a nonhadronic color superconducting phase. The droplets can carry electrons (or positrons) in the bulk or/and on the surface. The e(+)e(-) annihilation events take place due to the collisions of electrons from the visible matter with positrons from dark matter droplets which may result in the bright 511 keV gamma-ray line from the bulge of the Galaxy.

Domain Walls of High-Density QCD

We show that in very dense quark matter there must exist metastable domain walls where the axial U(1) phase of the color-superconducting condensate changes by 2pi. The decay rate of the domain walls is exponentially suppressed and we compute it semiclassically. We give an estimate of the critical chemical potential above which our analysis is under theoretical control.

Classification of QCD defects via holography

We discuss classification of defects of various codimensions within a holographic model of pure Yang-Mills theories or gauge theories with fundamental matter. We focus on their role below and above the phase transition point as well as their weights in the partition function. The general result is that objects which are stable and heavy in one phase are becoming very light (tensionless) in the other phase. We argue that the {theta} dependence of the partition function drastically changes at the phase transition point, and therefore it correlates with stability properties of configurations. We also explore the possibility that novel stable glueballlike particles, with mass which scales like N{sub c} and which are analogous to carbon Fullerenes, may exist in nature on the QCD scale. Some possible applications for studying the QCD vacuum properties above and below the phase transition are also discussed.

Can induced theta vacua be created in heavy-Ion collisions?

We discuss a phenomenon important to the development of the early Universe which may be experimentally testable in heavy-ion collisions. An arbitrary induced straight theta vacuum state should be created in heavy-ion collisions, similar to the creation of the disoriented chiral condensate. It should be a large domain with a wrong straight theta(ind) not equal0 orientation which will mimic the physics of the early Universe when it is believed that the fundamental parameter straight theta(fund) not equal0. We test this idea numerically in a simple model where we study the evolution of the phases of the chiral condensates in QCD with two quark flavors with nonzero straight theta(ind) parameter. We see the formation of a nonzero straight theta(ind) vacuum on a time scale of 10(-23) s.

Novel mechanism for type I superconductivity in neutron stars

We suggest a mechanism that may resolve a conflict between the precession of a neutron star and the widely accepted idea that protons in the bulk of the neutron star form a type II superconductor. We will show that if there is a persistent, nondissipating current running along the magnetic flux tubes the force between magnetic flux tubes may be attractive, resulting in a type I, rather than a type II, superconductor. If this is the case, the conflict between the observed precession and the canonical estimation of the Landau-Ginzburg parameter