QCD-bag mass spectrum and phase transitions

Abstract

We obtain the hadronic mass spectrum in the `bag of bags' statistical bootstrap model (BBSBM), implementing the colorless state condition, aside of baryon and strangeness conservation, using group projection method. We study the partition function, investigate the properties of dense hadronic matter, and determine the conditions under which the system undergoes a phase transition to a deconfined quark-gluon plasma. We show that a phase transition cannot occur in the N=1 (Abelian) limit of our model, and is first order for QCD-like case N=3.