Has Quarkyonic Matter Been Seen in Lattice Simulations?

Abstract

Quarkyonic Matter refers to the dual state of matter between confined hadrons and quasi-free quarks. This duality leads to a robust constraint on the behavior of the distribution functions. After a comprehensive review of Quarkyonic Matter based on the distribution functions, we discuss recent lattice data for two-color QCD in $(1+1)$ and $(3+1)$ dimensions at finite baryon number density and QCD in $(3+1)$ dimensions at finite isospin density, as well as the astrophysically inferred equation of state. Taken together, these results reveal a coherent picture consistent with the emergence of Quarkyonic Matter in lattice simulations. Future lattice calculations of baryon and gauge-invariant quark momentum distributions at high density would provide a more direct test of this interpretation.