Exploring the phase structure of 12-flavor $SU(3)$

Abstract

We are studying the $SU(3)$ gauge theory with 12 staggered fermions, searching for the endpoint of the line of first-order phase transitions in the mass--beta plane. This endpoint plays an important role in our understanding of the phase diagram of this model. Having found this endpoint with high statistics on a small lattice using unimproved staggered fermions, we are working to find it on larger lattices and with improved actions. For an action improved with nHYP-smeared staggered fermions, we discuss the effect of slowly turning off the improvement on the broken shift symmetry phase.

7 pages, 5 figures, presented at the 32nd International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, 23-28 June, 2014, Columbia University, New York, NY