Dense baryonic matter in strong coupling lattice gauge theory

Abstract

We investigate the strong coupling limit of lattice QCD in the Hamiltonian formulation for systems with non-zero baryon density. In leading order the Hamiltonian looks like an antiferromagnet that is invariant under global U(N_f)xU(N_f) and local SU(N_c). Physically it describes meson dynamics with a fixed background of baryon density. We study this Hamiltonian with several baryon number distributions, and concentrate on the global symmetries of the ground state and on the properties of low lying excitations. In particular, for uniform non-zero baryon density we write the partition function as a path integral that is tractable in the limit of large N_c. We find that the ground state spontaneously breaks chiral symmetry as well as discrete lattice rotations in a way that depends on N_f and the density. The low energy excitations include type I and type II Goldstone bosons. The energies of the latter are of order 1/N_c, and are quadratic in momentum. Bosons of either type can develop anisotropic dispersion relations.