Mesons, baryons and the confinement/deconfinement transition

V. Tomas Mari Surkau; Urko Reinosa

doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2026.140288

Mesons, baryons and the confinement/deconfinement transition

V. Tomas Mari Surkau
, Urko Reinosa

CNRS

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

We identify an observable that could operate as a probe of the quark versus hadron content of a bath of quarks and gluons at finite temperature and chemical potential. To this purpose, we relate the Polyakov and anti-Polyakov loops, which determine how energetically costly it is to bring an external static quark or antiquark probe into the thermal bath, to the ability of that medium to provide favorable conditions for the formation of meson-like or baryon-like configurations that would screen the probes.

Original language	English
Article number	140288
Journal	Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics
Volume	874
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2026.140288
Publication status	Published - 1 Mar 2026

Keywords

Confinement
Net quark number
QCD phase diagram
Quantum chromodynamics

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10.1016/j.physletb.2026.140288

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abstract = "We identify an observable that could operate as a probe of the quark versus hadron content of a bath of quarks and gluons at finite temperature and chemical potential. To this purpose, we relate the Polyakov and anti-Polyakov loops, which determine how energetically costly it is to bring an external static quark or antiquark probe into the thermal bath, to the ability of that medium to provide favorable conditions for the formation of meson-like or baryon-like configurations that would screen the probes.",

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AU - Tomas Mari Surkau, V.

AU - Reinosa, Urko

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N2 - We identify an observable that could operate as a probe of the quark versus hadron content of a bath of quarks and gluons at finite temperature and chemical potential. To this purpose, we relate the Polyakov and anti-Polyakov loops, which determine how energetically costly it is to bring an external static quark or antiquark probe into the thermal bath, to the ability of that medium to provide favorable conditions for the formation of meson-like or baryon-like configurations that would screen the probes.

AB - We identify an observable that could operate as a probe of the quark versus hadron content of a bath of quarks and gluons at finite temperature and chemical potential. To this purpose, we relate the Polyakov and anti-Polyakov loops, which determine how energetically costly it is to bring an external static quark or antiquark probe into the thermal bath, to the ability of that medium to provide favorable conditions for the formation of meson-like or baryon-like configurations that would screen the probes.

KW - Confinement

KW - Net quark number

KW - QCD phase diagram

KW - Quantum chromodynamics

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105030952362

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DO - 10.1016/j.physletb.2026.140288

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105030952362

SN - 0370-2693

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JO - Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics

JF - Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics

M1 - 140288

ER -

Mesons, baryons and the confinement/deconfinement transition

Abstract

Keywords

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