Confronting effective models for deconfinement in dense quark matter with lattice data

Understand

Ab initio numerical simulations of the thermodynamics of dense quark matter remain a challenge.

• Apart from the infamous sign problem, lattice methods have to deal with finite volume and discretization effects as well as with the necessity to introduce sources for symmetry-breaking order parameters.
• We study these artifacts in the Polyakov-loop-extended Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model, and compare its predictions to existing lattice data for cold and dense two-color matter with two flavors of Wilson quarks.
• To achieve even qualitative agreement with lattice data requires the introduction of two novel elements in the model: (i) explicit chiral symmetry breaking in the effective contact four-fermion interaction, referred to as the chiral twist, and (ii) renormalization of the Polyakov loop.