QCD phase diagram at small densities from simulations with imaginary mu

Abstract

We review our results for the QCD phase diagram at baryonic chemical potential mu_B \leq pi T. Our simulations are performed with an imaginary chemical potential mu_I for which the fermion determinant is positive. For 2 flavors of staggered quarks, we map out the phase diagram and identify the pseudo-critical temperature T_c(mu_I). For mu_I/T \leq pi/3, this is an analytic function, whose Taylor expansion is found to converge rapidly, with truncation errors far smaller than statistical ones. The truncated series may then be continued to real mu, yielding the corresponding phase diagram for mu_B \lsim 500 MeV. This approach provides control over systematics and avoids reweighting. We outline our strategy to find the (2+1)-flavor critical point.

Comments: 5 pages, 4 figures. To appear in the proceedings of Strong and Electroweak Matter (SEWM 2002), Heidelberg, Germany, 2-5 Oct 2002