A finite-density transition line for QCD with 695 MeV dynamical fermions
Abstract
We apply the relative weights method to SU(3) gauge theory with staggered fermions of mass 695 MeV at a set of temperatures in the range 151 T 267 MeV, to obtain an effective Polyakov line action at each temperature. We then apply a mean-field method to search for phase transitions in the effective theory at finite densities. The result is a transition line in the plane of temperature and chemical potential, with an endpoint at high temperature, as expected, but also a second endpoint at a lower temperature. We cannot rule out the possibilities that a transition line reappears at temperatures lower than the range investigated, or that the second endpoint is absent for light quarks.
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