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We present unambiguous evidence from lattice simulations of Nf = 3 QCD for two tricritical points in the (T;m) phase diagram at fixed imaginary m=T = ip=3 mod. 2p=3, one in the light and one in the heavy quark regime. Together with similar results in the literature for Nf = 2 this implies the existence of a chiral and of a deconfinement tricritical line at those values of imaginary chemical potentials. These tricritical lines represent the boundaries of the analytically continued chiral and deconfinement critical surfaces, respectively, which delimit the parameter space with first order phase transitions. It is demonstrated that the shape of the deconfinement critical surface is dictated by tricritical scaling and implies the weakening of the deconfinement transition with real chemical potential. A qualitatively similar effect holds for the chiral critical surface.
The QCD phase diagram as a function of temperature, T, and chemical potential for baryon
number, mB, is still unknown today, due to the sign problem, which prohibits direct Monte Carlo
simulations for non-vanishing baryon density. Investigations in models sharing chiral symmetry
with QCD predict a phase diagram, in which the transition corresponds to a smooth crossover at
zero density, but which is strengthened by chemical potential to turn into a first order transition
beyond some second order critical point. This contribution reviews the lattice evidence in favour
and against the existence of a critical point.
A lot of effort in lattice simulations over the last years has been devoted to studies of the QCD deconfinement transition. Most state-of-the-art simulations use rooted staggered fermions, while Wilson fermions are affected by large systematic uncertainties, such as coarse lattices or heavy sea quarks. Here we report on an ongoing study of the transition, using two degenerate flavours of nonperturbatively O(a) improved Wilson fermions. We start with Nt = 12 and 16 lattices and pion masses of 600 to 450 MeV, aiming at chiral and continuum limits with light quarks.