Topic: QCD phase transitions within the functional renormalization group approach 

Speaker: Prof. Weijie Fu

Coordinates: PCFT C1124, 16:00, Thursday, October 12

Abstract: The functional renormalization group (fRG) is a nonperturbative continuum field approach, in which quantum, thermal and density fluctuations are integrated in successively with the evolution of the RG scale. In this seminar, I would like to discuss recent progress in fRG studies of QCD phase transitions at finite temperature and densities, including the QCD phase structure and the location of the critical end point (CEP), baryon number fluctuations and the ripples of CEP, the criticality of QCD phase transition, the moat regime in QCD etc. In particular, it will be shown that recent estimates for the location of the CEP or the onset of new physics from first-principles functional methods and lattice QCD converge in a rather small region at baryon chemical potentials of about 600 MeV. I also would like to discuss the possibility and prospect to pin down the location of CEP with the ripples of CEP encoded in the baryon number fluctuations.