Analytic continuation of the critical line: suggestions for QCD

Abstract

We perform a numerical study of the systematic effects involved in the determination of the critical line at real baryonic chemical potential by analytic continuation from results obtained at imaginary chemical potentials. We present results obtained in theories free of the sign problem, such as two-color QCD with finite baryonic density and three-color QCD with finite isospin chemical potential, and comment on general features which could be relevant also to the continuation of the critical line in real QCD at finite baryonic density.

Comments: 12 pages, 13 figures, 7 tables (revised version accepted by Phys. Rev. D80, 034501(2009))