Thermodynamic properties of strongly interacting matter in a finite volume using the Polyakov-Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model

We present the thermodynamic properties of strongly interacting matter in finite volume in the framework of Polyakov loop enhanced Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model within mean field approximation. We considered both the 2 flavor and 2 + 1 flavor matter. Our primary observation was a qualitative change in the phase transition properties that resulted in the lowering of the temperature corresponding to the critical endpoint. This would make it favorable for detection in heavy-ion experiments that intend to create high density matter with considerably small temperatures. We further demonstrate the possibility of obtaining chiral symmetry restoration even within the confined phase in finite volumes. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.87.054009