Inhomogeneous instabilities in high-density QCD

Abstract QCD at large densities exhibits a moat regime in the scalar–pseudoscalar sector. The resolution of its dynamics is pivotal for the access to the onset of new phases including the potential critical end point of QCD. In this work we present the first self-consistent analysis of this regime with the functional renormalisation group approach to QCD. We map out the moat regime, including a first analysis of potential inhomogeneous instabilities at baryon chemical potential $$\mu _B\gtrsim 600$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>μ</mml:mi> <mml:mi>B</mml:mi> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>≳</mml:mo> <mml:mn>600</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> MeV on the chiral crossover line.