Stability of quark matter affected by the surface tension in a strong magnetic field

Abstract

The surface tension of quark matter in a strong magnetic field is investigated using a geometric approach. The interface between the hadronic phase and the quark phase is determined by the Maxwell construction of the first-order transition. When surface tension is included, the free energy per baryon is no longer a monotonic function of the chemical potential. Specifically, for smaller droplets, a larger chemical potential is required to achieve a stable phase. Moreover, we find that the surface tension does not increase monotonically with the magnetic field. Finally, it is shown that stable quark matter, both with and without surface tension, can exist at a specific magnetic field strength, which would provide favorable conditions for the experimental production of quark matter.