Critical endpoint of QCD in a finite volume

Understand

We investigate the impact of finite volume and the corresponding restrictions on long-range correlations on the location of the critical endpoint in the QCD phase diagram.

• To this end, we employ a sophisticated combination of lattice Yang--Mills theory and a (truncated) version of Dyson--Schwinger equations in Landau gauge for $2 + 1$ quark flavors that has been studied extensively in the past.
• In the infinite-volume limit, this system predicts a critical endpoint at moderate temperature and large chemical potential.
• We study this system at small and intermediate volumes and determine the dependence of the location of the critical endpoint on the boundary conditions and the volume of a three-dimensional cube with edge length $L$.