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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Chiral and deconfinement transitions in spin-polarized quark matter

Ricardo L. S. Farias1,* and William R. Tavares2,†

  • *Contact author: ricardo.farias@ufsm.br
  • †Contact author: tavares.william@ce.uerj.br

Phys. Rev. D 112, L051902 – Published 15 September, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/5znc-7ztg

Abstract

We investigate the influence of spin polarization in strongly interacting matter by introducing a finite spin potential, μΣ, which effectively controls the spin density of the system without requiring rotation or specific boundary conditions. Inspired by recent lattice QCD simulations that incorporated such a potential, we implement this approach within an effective QCD framework. Our results show that increasing spin polarization leads to a simultaneous decrease in both the chiral and deconfinement restoration temperatures. The resulting phase structure is qualitatively consistent with lattice findings, and notably, we observe the emergence of a first-order chiral phase transition at low temperature. These results suggest that spin-polarized environments can significantly impact the QCD phase diagram and offer a controlled route for studying spin effects in hot and dense matter.

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