Competing color superconductivity and color Kondo effect in quark matter
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The competition between bulk color superconductivity and the localized screening of a heavy quark impurity, analogous to the Kondo effect, leads to a rich spectrum of phenomena in dense quark matter. We investigate this competition at the edge of a superconducting quark bulk, where both the superconducting gap and the Kondo scale are dynamically generated in a tractable toy model. Utilizing the exact Bethe Ansatz method, we elucidate the resulting boundary physics. We identify distinct regimes characterized by either multiparticle Kondo screening or an unscreened local moment. Crucially, we also uncover a novel intermediate phase featuring impurity screening through a single-particle bound state formed within the superconducting gap. The toy model presented in this work highlights the complex interplay between dynamically generated bulk properties and boundary impurities in extreme quantum chromodynamics environments, offering potential insights into phenomena occurring in heavy-ion collisions and compact stars.
DOI: 10.1103/q6kz-2vl2
Authors: Pradip Kattel, Abay Zhakenov, Natan Andrei
Institution: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4415138575