Topological Observables and Confinement in QCD: A Lattice Investigation

• Grant number: 23/11867-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: December 01, 2023
• End date: November 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Elementary Particle Physics and Fields
• Principal Investigator: Tereza Cristina da Rocha Mendes
• Grantee: Gustavo Moreira Simões
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física de São Carlos (IFSC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 17/05685-2 - Hadronic physics in high energy nuclear collisions, AP.ESP

Abstract

The understanding of color confinement in QCD is one of today's great open problems.Identifying quantities that allow a better characterization of confinement -and consequen-tly deconfinement, in extreme conditions- is of theoretical as well as phenomenologicalinterest. An important strategy is the investigation of the role played by special confi-gurations (of the theory's fields) associated with confinement, through their descriptionby effective theories and comparison with data from lattice-QCD simulations. The presentproject aims to combine the fellow's expertise in the study of effective theories and the workof the IFSC-USP research group in numerical simulations of lattice gauge theories. Thejoint analysis of topological observables relevant to confinement, by the analytical study inthe continuum and numerical simulations on the lattice, constitutes a great opportunity forscientific advance in the field, enabling also the collaboration between the research groupsof USP and UFF. The project inserts itself naturally in FAPESP's Thematic Project No.2017/05685-2 (led by Prof. Jun Takahashi from IFGW-Unicamp), as it seeks to deter-mine suitable quantities to characterize deconfinement, as occurs in the QGP, produced inheavy-ion collisions at the LHC.