Color Superconductivity

The figure represents and schematic description of the phases of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). QCD is the theory of strong interactions. It deals with two kinds of particles: quarks, which are the constituents of hadrons, and gluons, which are the mediators of the strong interactions between quarks. The region of low temperatures and low density is the hadron phase, where all quarks are confined to the interior of hadrons. At very high temperature the hadrons “melt” forming a plasma of quarks and gluons, a state that existed in the first few microseconds after the Big Bang and that might be reproduced in relativistic heavy-ion collision experiments at CERN and RHIC. At very high density and relatively low temperature quarks pair to form the phase of color superconductivity. This phase may be present in the core of compact stars. Notice that this phase diagram assumes zero external magnetic field. The new superconducting MCFL phase proposed by the authors would occur in the region of low temperatures and relatively high densities if a strong magnetic field is incorporated into the physical scenario.

Reported by: Ferrer, de la Incera, and Manuel in the 7 October 2005 issue of Physical Review Letters

Associated Physics News Update

Back to Physics News Graphics