Locate QCD Critical End Point in a Continuum Model Study

Understand

With a modified chemical potential dependent effective model for the gluon propagator, we try to locate the critical end point (CEP) of strongly interacting matter in the framework of Dyson-Schwinger equations (DSE).

• Beyond the chiral limit, we find that Nambu solution and Wigner solution could coexist in some area.
• Using the CornwallJackiw-Tomboulis (CJT) effective action, we show that these two phases are connected by a first order phase transition.
• We then locate CEP as the end point of the first order phase transition line.