Assessing the Reconstruction of the Critical Line in the QCD Phase Diagram from Imaginary to Real Chemical Potential

Abstract

We test a technique adopted in the lattice simulations framework, to reconstruct the chiral-phase boundary at real chemical potential, $\mu$, via extrapolation from imaginary $\mu$. We use a low-energy effective model, the Quark-Meson model, both in the mean-field approximation and within the Functional Renormalization Group, the latter in the Local Potential Approximation. The model provides results both for real and imaginary values of $\mu$, thus a direct comparison can be performed between the prediction of the model for real values of $\mu$ and the ones obtained via extrapolation from the results at imaginary $\mu$. We compute an effective convergence radius for the reconstruction technique, $\mu_\mathrm{conv}$, and find $\mu_\mathrm{conv}\approx146$ MeV. This value sustains the validity of the reconstruction technique also for finite and moderate values of the chemical potential. On the other hand, within our model, $\mu_\mathrm{conv}$ is quite smaller then the value of $\mu$ where we find the actual critical endpoint. Near this point of the phase diagram, we find a discrepancy between the actual phase boundary and the one pbtained via extrapolatin of $\approx150\%$. Therefore, our results show that the location of the critical endpoint obtained via reconstruction from imaginary $\mu$ should be considered with due caution