Speaker
Description
The study of hadronic matter at finite density and temperature is important for understanding phenomena ranging from heavy-ion collisions to neutron star interiors and the early universe. In this talk, I will present an overview of the current understanding of the phase structure of strongly interacting matter, focusing on the relevant degrees of freedom—hadrons, quarks, and gluons—and their transitions. A key focus will be the concept of continuity, including the smooth crossover at finite temperature and the possible quark–hadron continuity at high density. I will also discuss recent insights into quarkyonic matter and related intermediate phases, where quarks are partially deconfined while gluons remain confined, offering new perspectives on the nonperturbative dynamics of QCD.
