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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Toward a holographic realization of the 2+1-flavor QCD phase structure

Jin-Yang Shen1,*, Xin-Yi Liu2,3,4,†, Jin-Rui Wu1,‡, Yue-Liang Wu2,3,4,5,§, and Zhen Fang1,6,∥

  • *Contact author: Jinyang_Shen@hnu.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: liuxinyi23@mails.ucas.ac.cn
  • ‡Contact author: wujinrui@hnu.edu.cn
  • §Contact author: ylwu@itp.ac.cn
  • ∥Contact author: zhenfang@hnu.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. D 112, L111504 – Published 12 December, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/3plt-wlt7

Abstract

We present a fully backreacted Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton–flavor model with dynamical light and strange sectors, calibrated to lattice QCD using a machine-learning–assisted spectral method. The model reproduces the 2+1-flavor equation of state and chiral dynamics with quantitative accuracy, and maps the Columbia plot with a tricritical point at mstri≃21  MeV and a critical mass mc≃0.785  MeV, consistent with lattice results. At finite density, it yields a crossover-to-first-order transition and predicts a critical endpoint at TC=75.4  MeV and μC=768  MeV, within the reach of heavy-ion experiments. These findings establish a unified holographic framework for the QCD phase structure across quark masses and baryon density, providing the first consistent and quantitative description of both deconfinement and chiral transitions within a single holographic model.

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Information

Phys. Rev. D 112, L111504– Published 12 December, 2025
  • Received 26 August 2025
  • Accepted 13 November 2025
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