Lee-Yang zero analysis for the study of QCD phase structure

Abstract

We comment on the Lee-Yang zero analysis for the study of the phase structure of QCD at high temperature and baryon number density by Monte-Carlo simulations. We find that the sign problem for non-zero density QCD induces a serious problem in the finite volume scaling analysis of the Lee-Yang zeros for the investigation of the order of the phase transition. If the sign problem occurs at large volume, the Lee-Yang zeros will always approach the real axis of the complex parameter plane in the thermodynamic limit. This implies that a scaling behavior which would suggest a crossover transition will not be obtained. To clarify this problem, we discuss the Lee-Yang zero analysis for SU(3) pure gauge theory as a simple example without the sign problem, and then consider the case of non-zero density QCD. It is suggested that the distribution of the Lee-Yang zeros in the complex parameter space obtained by each simulation could be more important information for the investigation of the critical endpoint in the $(T, \mu_q)$ plane than the finite volume scaling behavior.