Speaker
Fabian Rennecke
(University of Giessen)
Description
QCD is expected to have a rich phase structure at finite density. However, owing to strong coupling and sign problems, only little is known from first principles. The functional renormalization group allows for direct access to dense QCD matter based on microscopic quark-gluon dynamics. Model studies suggest the existence of inhomogeneous/crystalline phases at large density. The moat regime, where the static energy of bosonic excitations is minimized at nonzero momentum, encodes spatial modulations in the system and is hence a precursor for such phases. After introducing QCD from an FRG perspective more generally, I discuss the physics of the moat regime and the possibilities for its experimental discovery through heavy-ion collisions.