Are there exotic phases in the Quantum Chromodynamics phase diagram?

Science / Physics

The structure of the matter that makes up the universe has fascinated several generations of scientists. Quantum Chromodynamics is the theory about subatomic particles, quarks and gluons and how they come together to form protons and neutrons. One of the most important recent advances in this area was the detection of gravitational waves originating from the merger of neutron stars, which has generated interesting data about objects with very high densities. Such environments today cannot be reproduced experimentally on Earth, and all knowledge about dense matter comes from theoretical models. The most intriguing thing is that none of the well-established models can produce important results from the gravitational wave data analysis, such as the behaviour of the star’s mass as we approach its interior. This project aims to build models that include unusual ingredients and verify whether the presence of exotic phases will satisfy observational constraints. With this, we seek to expand our understanding of matter at high densities.

Open Calls

Chamada 6