Deconfinement and Chiral Symmetry: Competing Orders

Abstract

We investigate the interplay between chiral symmetry restoration and deconfinement both in two color QCD and adjoint QCD. In ordinary QCD we show how the behavior of the Polyakov loop near chiral phase transition is induced by the chiral order parameter, while in adjoint two color QCD one has two truly independent phase transitions. Introducing a finite baryochemical potential we find that adjoint QCD exhibits tetracritical behavior.