The influence of baryons on the chiral phase transition in QCD

Abstract

A qualitative analysis of the chiral phase transition in QCD with two massless quarks and non--zero baryon density is performed. It is assumed that at zero baryonic density, $ρ=0$, the temperature phase transition is of the second order. Due to a specific power dependence of baryon masses on the chiral condensate the phase transition becomes of the first order at the temperature $T=T_{\mathrm{ph}}(ρ)$ for $ρ>0$. At temperatures $T_{\mathrm{cont}}(ρ) > T > T_{\mathrm{ph}}(ρ)$ there is a mixed phase consisting of the quark phase (stable) and the hadron phase (unstable). At the temperature $T = T_{\mathrm{cont}}(ρ)$ the system experiences a continuous transition to the pure chirally symmetric phase.