QCD Phase Transition in Hot Hadronic Matter

Abstract

We analyse the QCD chiral phase transition in the nonlinear and linear $\sigma$-model. The strategy is the same in both cases. We fix the parameters of the effective meson theory at temperature $T=0$ and extrapolate the models to temperatures in the vicinity of the phase transition. The linear $\sigma$-model in $SU(3)\times SU(3)$ gives a crossover around $T_c\approx190$ MeV. Around this temperature chiral $SU(2)\times SU(2)$ is almost restored. We also calculate meson masses as a function of temperature.