Chiral phase transition in a covariant nonlocal NJL model

The properties of the chiral phase transition at finite temperature and chemical potential are investigated within a nonlocal covariant extension of the NJL model based on a separable quark-quark interaction. We find that for low values of T the chiral transition is always of first order and, for finite quark masses, at certain end point the transition turns into a smooth crossover. Our predictions for the position of this point is similar, although somewhat smaller, than previous estimates. (author)