[NT/RBRC seminar] Exploring the QCD Phase Diagram along Different Axes

by Ricardo Sonego Farias

Friday 9 Oct 2026, 11:00 → 13:00 US/Eastern

CFNS library (https://bnl.zoomgov.com/j/1614715193?pwd=WkwxODVWdzZzb29zQnZRVGp3VTBDQT09)

Understanding the phase structure of strongly interacting matter requires exploring a parameter space that extends far beyond the conventional temperature–baryon chemical potential plane. In this talk, I will present results obtained with effective models of QCD along several complementary directions of this generalized phase diagram. Starting from the $T– \mu_B$ plane, I will discuss chiral symmetry restoration and the emergence of color-superconducting phases at high baryon density. I will then consider the effects of finite isospin and chiral chemical potentials, $mu_I$ and $\mu_5$, external magnetic fields, global rotation characterized by an angular velocity ($\Omega$), and a finite spin chemical potential $\mu_\Sigma$. I will also discuss two-color QCD, which provides a particularly useful theoretical laboratory for investigating strongly interacting matter at finite density. In cases where the sign problem is absent, our effective-model results are in good agreement with lattice-QCD simulations. Finally, I will present ongoing work exploring two further directions: the influence of uniform acceleration on chiral symmetry restoration and the formation of spatially inhomogeneous phases and finite-momentum instabilities at high density. Together, these studies illustrate how generalized chemical potentials, external fields, rotation, acceleration, and complementary theoretical settings can be used to investigate different sectors of the QCD phase diagram and test the robustness of effective descriptions of strongly interacting matter.