Computational-Methods-for-Hot-Nuclear-Matter

A stream of the course "SCI 2715 – Science Research Initiative Undergraduate Research" at University of Utah. In this git, we collect tasks, scripts, small data files, theory, and analysis related to the semester's group project.

The project

This project is part of a course meant to give an undergraduate some understanding of quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the field theory that describes the strong nuclear force, which binds together protons and neutrons. Our tool for study is lattice field theory.

QCD is a theory describing the interactions of quarks and gluons. If we imagine the quarks to have infinite mass (or, formally equivalently, if we imagine there to be no quarks at all) we have a so-called "pure SU(3) theory". In this theory, when the temperature is high enough, protons and neutrons will "melt" into their constituents, the quarks and gluons. The temperature at which this occurs is the deconfinement temperature, $T_d$.

In this projects students will try to extract $T_d$. Even in this simplified pure SU(3) theory, this is a moderately challenging computational endeavor, which requires cooperation among many aspiring scientists, each managing their own modest tasks. These tasks include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Plan which configurations shall be generated
2. Generate configurations using SIMULATeQCD
3. Run measurement code from SIMULATeQCD on those configurations
4. Do statistical analysis using the LatticeToolbox
5. Construct new code that automatically selects $T_d$
6. Perform a continuum-limit extrapolation
7. Collect our results and interpretations in a cogent way

In the wiki page, we will collect our results and give our progress. Students will report in their own words what they have learned about certain aspects of the theory. We will record which person carried out which task.

In the projects space, we will list the tasks that need to be done, claim them, and mark them as they are completed.

The notes

I went into the course assuming the students had already taken calculus and enough physics to know about kinetic and potential energy, forces, and vectors. Lattice QCD requires a lot of technial knowledge that a first-year undergrad won't typically be exposed to. These notes are my first attempt to fill that gap. I draw a lot from my research notes, but I tried to simplify the discussion, and supplement it with some background information that I think some of the students will be missing.

I should mention that these notes are a rough draft, and are still being actively developed and edited, so be wary of typos and incomplete information. If you notice something that seems incorrect, or if there is something you find confusing, or somewhere that you would like some additional explanation, please make an issue!

You can find them in the simulatingReality folder. These notes were written in LaTeX. You can look into the 0_simulat.tex files to see what packages this uses, but I think if you install texlive-full, you should have all the packages you need.

Assuming you are using some flavor of Linux or MacOS this compiles with ./makelatex. If you encounter issues with this, try ./makelatexDebug. If you have already compiled once with ./makelatex or ./makelatexDebug, you can compile with ./makelatexFast. Feel free to make an issue if you have any problems.

In case you are on Windows, or if you have too much trouble compiling, I also included an already compiled pdf of the the notes in simulatingReality/0_simulat.pdf. Again, feel free to email me or open up an issue if you find mistakes or have suggestions for improvements.