Abstract |
The properties of dense matter remain one of the most pursued topic of
nuclear physics. Understanding them provides valuable insights into the
fundamental interactions, and mainly QCD, which desribes the strong
interaction. These conditions are also at the heart of many astrophysical
phenomena such as neutron stars (NS), supernovae and the early universe.
Although QCD is well established, understanding the state of matter at high
densities-low temperatures is not straightforward; on one hand the strong
interaction, unlike other interactions, is non-perturbative at these ``low''
energy regimes ($< 1 $GeV.fm-3), rendering the mathematical tools usually
employed, such as perturbative approaches ineffective here. On the other hand
we often rely on numerical approaches to problems in physics, in that case
these are known as numerical lattice calculations,
they work fine for finite temperatures, but encounter a problem at finite
densities known as the sign problem. The consequence of this is that today,
we have no theory in the regime of low temperature and high density that
allows us to make experimental predictions, and this strongly motivates
relying on effective modeling.
In this talk, I will present a theoretical framework for the study of nuclear
matter, known as the chiral confining model, that is anchored in two central phenomena in nuclear physics: chiral symmetry breaking and confinement. This
model will be used within the relativistic Hartree-Fock (RHF) approach where
chiral symmetry is represented by a scalar potential and the effect of
confinement through the nucleon response.
The predictions of this model will be discussed along with various
improvements progressively added on top of the model. |