Glueballs and the superfluid phase of Two-Color QCD

• Published in: The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields Particles and fields, 2008-11, Vol.58 (1), p.69-81
• Main Authors: Lombardo, M. P., Paciello, M. L., Petrarca, S., Taglienti, B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithms; Astronomy; Astrophysics and Cosmology; Color; Computer simulation; Correlators; Elementary Particles; Exact sciences and technology; Fermions; Fluids; Galling; Hadrons; Heavy Ions; Lattices; Measurement Science and Instrumentation; Molecular dynamics; Nuclear Energy; Nuclear Physics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Quantum chromodynamics; Quantum Field Theories; Quantum Field Theory; Regular Article - Theoretical Physics; String Theory; Superfluidity; The physics of elementary particles and fields
• ISSN: 1434-6044; 1434-6052
• DOI: 10.1140/epjc/s10052-008-0718-z

We present the first results on scalar glueballs in cold, dense matter using lattice simulations of two-color QCD. The simulations are carried out on a 6 3 ×12 lattice and use a standard hybrid molecular dynamics algorithm for staggered fermions for two values of quark mass. The glueball correlators are evaluated via a multi-step smearing procedure. The amplitude of the glueball correlator peaks in correspondence with the zero temperature chiral transition, μ c = m π /2, and the propagators change in a significant way in the superfluid phase, while the Polyakov loop is nearly insensitive to the transition. Standard analysis suggest that lowest mass in the 0 ++ gluonic channel decreases in the superfluid phase, but these observations need to be confirmed on larger and more elongated lattices. These results indicate that a non-zero density induces non-trivial modifications of the gluonic medium.