Inhomogeneous phases in nonlocal chiral quark models

Abstract

The presence of inhomogeneous phases in the QCD phase diagram is analyzed within a chiral quark model that includes nonlocal interactions. We work at the mean field level, assuming that the spatial dependence of scalar and pseudo-scalar condensates is given by a dual chiral density wave. Phase diagrams for Gaussian nonlocal form factors are studied in detail and compared with those obtained within the Nambu−Jona-Lasinio model and quark-meson approaches.