Phase transitions at finite density

Abstract

I discuss the analytic structure of thermodynamic quantities for complex values of thermodynamic variables within Landau theory. In particular, the singularities connected with phase transitions of second order, first order and cross over types are examined. A conformal mapping is introduced, which may be used to explore the thermodynamics of strongly interacting matter at finite values of the baryon chemical potential $\mu$ starting from lattice QCD results at $\mu^{2}\leq 0$. This method allows us to improve the convergence of a Taylor expansion about $\mu=0$ and to enhance the sensitivity to physical singularities in the complex $\mu$ plane. The technique is illustrated by an application to a second-order transition in a chiral effective model.