This thesis focuses on an unresolved problem in particle and nuclear physics: the relation between two important non-perturbative phenomena in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) – quark confinement and chiral symmetry breaking. The author develops a new analysis method in the lattice QCD, and derives a number of analytical formulae to express the order parameters for quark confinement, such as the Polyakov loop, its fluctuations, and the Wilson loop in terms of the Dirac eigenmodes closely related to chiral symmetry breaking. Based on the analytical formulae, the author analytically as well as numerically shows that at finite temperatures there is no direct one-to-one correspondence between them. The thesis describes this extraordinary achievement using the first-principle analysis, and proposes a possible new phase in which quarks are confined and chiral symmetry is restored.

This first open access volume of the handbook series contains articles on the standard model of particle physics, both from the theoretical and experimental perspective. It also covers related topics, such as heavy-ion physics, neutrino physics and searches for new physics beyond the standard model. A joint CERN-Springer initiative, the "Particle Physics Reference Library" provides revised and updated contributions based on previously published material in the well-known Landolt-Boernstein series on particle physics, accelerators and detectors (volumes 21A, B1,B2,C), which took stock of the field approximately one decade ago. Central to this new initiative is publication under full open access

The 20-year-old problem of the confinement and the resulting spectrum of the bound states is central to quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Many approaches have been tried starting from different points of view: the potential theory, the Bethe-Salpeter equation, string and flux tube models, bag models, vacuum structure, current algebra, lattice theory, and numerical simulations. Phenomenological assumptions and first-principle theoretical results or indications have been combined. Many partial successes have been attained, but a unified and comprehensive treatment is still lacking.In recent years, new attention has been given to the problem, both in terms of theoretical developments and for the purpose of evaluating the spectrum and other properties of the particles. In particular, attention has been focussed on areas like numerical simulations, the derivation of the potential, the use of the Bethe-Salpeter equation, the connection between the potential and the chiral symmetry approach.This workshop was an opportunity for a synthesis and a comparison of the different points of view.

The QNP series of international conferences on Quarks and Nuclear Physics is by now a well established and highly respected forum where the most recent developments in the field are discussed and communicated. QNP 2006 is the forth edition of this biennial meeting. Selected and refereed original contributions of QNP 2006 have been published in The European Physical Journal A - Hadrons and Nuclei (EPJ A), while the present proceedings book, in addition to reprinting the articles published in EPJ A, further includes all other contributions selected and accepted by the organizing committee for publication and archiving.

This volume presents the important recent progress in both theoretical and phenomenological issues of strong coupling gauge theories, with/without supersymmetry and extra dimensions, etc. Emphasis is placed on dynamical symmetry breaking with large anomalous dimensions governed by the dynamics near the nontrivial fixed point. Also presented are recent developments of the corresponding effective field theories, such as those including light spectra other than the Nambu-Goldstone particles.This book is a must for all those who are interested in dynamical symmetry breaking and effective field theories in a modern version.

The quark confinement mechanism is one of the most difficult problems in particle physics, and is listed as the 7 difficult mathematical problems of the new millennium. The first person who first solves this problem will be awarded a prize of US$ 1 Million by Cray Mathematics Institute. This volume is useful for the systematic understanding of quark confinement and nonperturbative aspects of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) from the wide viewpoints of mathematical physics, lattice QCD physics and quark-hadron physics. It covers the current studies of nonperturbative QCD: quark confinement mechanism; topologies in QCD (instantons, monopoles and vortices); BRS quartet mechanism for color confinement; lattice QCD calculations for quarks, gluons and hadrons; dynamical chiral symmetry breaking and hadrons.

The physics of strongly interacting matter in an external magnetic field is presently emerging as a topic of great cross-disciplinary interest for particle, nuclear, astro- and condensed matter physicists. It is known that strong magnetic fields are created in heavy ion collisions, an insight that has made it possible to study a variety of surprising and intriguing phenomena that emerge from the interplay of quantum anomalies, the topology of non-Abelian gauge fields, and the magnetic field. In particular, the non-trivial topological configurations of the gluon field induce a non-dissipative electric current in the presence of a magnetic field. These phenomena have led to an extended formulation of relativistic hydrodynamics, called chiral magnetohydrodynamics. Hitherto unexpected applications in condensed matter physics include graphene and topological insulators. Other fields of application include astrophysics, where strong magnetic fields exist in magnetars and pulsars. Last but not least, an important new theoretical tool that will be revisited and which made much of the progress surveyed in this book possible is the holographic principle - the correspondence between quantum field theory and gravity in extra dimensions. Edited and authored by the pioneers and leading experts in this newly emerging field, this book offers a valuable resource for a broad community of physicists and graduate students.