Hadron properties in the nuclear medium

Abstract

The QCD vacuum shows the dynamical breaking of chiral symmetry. In the hot/dense QCD medium, the chiral order parameter such as $<\bar{q}q>$ is expected to change as function of temperature $T$ and density $\rho$ of the medium, and its experimental detection is one of the main challenges in modern hadron physics. In this article, we discuss theoretical expectations for the in-medium hadron spectra associated with partial restoration of chiral symmetry and the current status of experiments with an emphasis on the measurements of properties of mesons produced in near-ground-state nuclei.

Comments: 40 pages, submitted to Reviews of Modern Physics