Simulating QCD at finite density with static quarks

Abstract

We study lattice QCD in the limit that the quark mass and chemical potential are simultaneously made large, resulting in a controllable density of quarks which do not move; this is similar in spirit to the quenched approximation for zero density QCD. In this approximation we find that the deconfinement transition seen at zero density becomes a smooth crossover for any nonzero density at which we simulated, and that at low enough temperature chiral symmetry remains broken at all densities.