Speaker
Description
We study the low-energy QCD phase diagram under a magnetic field and at finite density. Both baryon chemical potential and isospin chemical potential are taken into account. The former is responsible for a domain wall configuration of the neutral pion, dubbed the chiral soliton lattice (CSL), originating from the chiral anomaly. The latter induces the charged pion condensate that can accommodate Abrikosov vortex lattice (AVL). Either phenomenon requires the magnetic field above a certain critical value. Our findings show that an interplay between the two structures, which we call "CSL-AVL intersection", lowers the demanded critical magnetic field and therefore alters the phase diagram. The result is phenomenologically relevant to neutron stars, particularly in regions with proton superconductors. The common mechanism applies to broader physical contexts that feature coexisting vortices and domain walls, e. g., H meson vortices intersected by eta meson domain walls.