Crystallography of three-flavor quark matter

Journal Article · Wed Nov 01 00:00:00 EST 2006 · Physical Review. D, Particles Fields

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVD.74.094019· OSTI ID:20873144

Rajagopal, Krishna ^[1]; Sharma, Rishi ^[1]

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1. Center for Theoretical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)

We analyze and compare candidate crystal structures for the crystalline color superconducting phase that may arise in cold, dense but not asymptotically dense, three-flavor quark matter. We determine the gap parameter {delta} and free energy {omega}({delta}) for many possible crystal structures within a Ginzburg-Landau approximation, evaluating {omega}({delta}) to order {delta}{sup 6}. In contrast to the two-flavor case, we find a positive {delta}{sup 6} term and hence an {omega}({delta}) that is bounded from below for all the structures that we analyze. This means that we are able to evaluate {delta} and {omega} as a function of the splitting between Fermi surfaces for all the structures we consider. We find two structures with particularly robust values of {delta} and the condensation energy, within a factor of 2 of those for the CFL phase which is known to characterize QCD at asymptotically large densities. The robustness of these phases results in their being favored over wide ranges of density. However, it also implies that the Ginzburg-Landau approximation is not quantitatively reliable. We develop qualitative insights into what makes a crystal structure favorable, and use these to winnow the possibilities. The two structures that we find to be most favorable are both built from condensates with face-centered cubic symmetry: in one case, the <ud> and <us> condensates are separately face-centered cubic; in the other case <ud> and <us> combined make up a face-centered cube.

• OSTI ID: 20873144
• Journal Information: Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Vol. 74, Issue 9; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.74.094019; (c) 2006 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0556-2821
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
APPROXIMATIONS
COLOR MODEL
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
D QUARKS
DENSITY
FCC LATTICES
FERMI LEVEL
FLAVOR MODEL
FREE ENERGY
GINZBURG-LANDAU THEORY
QUANTUM CHROMODYNAMICS
QUARK MATTER
S QUARKS
SYMMETRY
U QUARKS