Infrared Phase of QCD

by Ivan Horvath (University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY)

Tuesday 11 Nov 2025, 16:00 → 17:00 Asia/Kolkata

AG69 and on zoom

Among recent new developments in strong interactions is the discovery of infrared (IR) phase in SU(3) gauge theories with fundamental quarks. Thermal transition to/from this phase in "real-world QCD" aspires to be a true phase transition of nature contrary to known analytic crossovers. Its existence may thus turn QCD transition into a more consequential event in cosmological evolution than previously thought. In fact, the new kind of IR physics driving the IR transition may bring unexpected angles into cosmology at large. I will discuss the evidence for the IR phase, elaborate on its basic properties and speculate on consequences of its existence.