The Phases of Quantum Chromodynamics

John Kogut obtained his PhD from Stanford University in 1971. He was nominated for the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize, for the International Scientists' Boycott of the Strategic Defense Initiative. He is currently Professor of Physics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He is co-author of over 200 original papers in elementary particle, high-energy and condensed matter physics, and is the author of one previous book. Mikhail Sephanov obtained his PhD from the University of Oxford in 1994. He was a Postdoctoral Research Associate University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign from 1994 to 1997 and then spent two years at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is presently Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and RHIC Fellow. His research interests lie in particle and nuclear physics, quantum field theory on the lattice, matter under extreme conditions, and heavy-ion collisions.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Background to spin systems and critical phenomena; 3. Gauge fields on a four-dimensional Euclidean lattice; 4. Fermions and nonperturbative dynamics in QCD; 5. Lattice fermions and chiral symmetry; 6. Hamiltonian version of lattice-gauge theory; 7. Phase transitions in lattice-gauge theory at high temperatures; 8. Physics of QCD at high temperatures and chemical potentials; 9. Large chemical potentials and color superconductivity; 10. Effective Lagrangians and models of QCD at nonzero chemical potential; 11. Lattice-gauge theory at nonzero chemical potential; 12. Epilogue; References; Index.

Review of the hardback: 'The line of argument is elegantly presented and should be appealing and useful to students who want to enter the field and learn the basics of the QCD phase diagram … The Phases of Quantum Chromodynamics gives a well-structured overview of the phases of QCD under extreme conditions … for scientists working in the field, the book is a must. And for those who want to learn more about the fascinating world of QCD under extreme conditions, it is a very good starting point.' Physics Today