Happy Island

Abstract

I discuss the phase diagram for QCD in the baryon chemical potential and temperature plane. I argue that there is a new phase of matter different from the deconfined Quark Gluon Plasma: Quarkyonic Matter. Quarkyonic Matter is confined and exists at densities parametrically large compared to the QCD scale, when the number of quark colors, $N_c$ is large. I motivate the possibility that Quarkyonic Matter is in an inhomogeneous phase, and is surrounded by lines of phase transitions, making a Happy Island in the ${\mu }_B$-T plane. I conjecture about the geography of Happy Island.

Comments: Invited talk presented at Symposium on Nuclear Physics in GOA, India, Nov. 28-Dec. 2, 2010