text: To obtain a rough idea of what phases might occur, one can use a model that has some of the same properties as QCD, but is easier to manipulate. Many physicists use Nambu–Jona-Lasinio models, which contain no gluons, and replace the strong interaction with a four-fermion interaction. Mean-field methods are commonly used to analyse the phases. Another approach is the bag model, in which the effects of confinement are simulated by an additive energy density that penalizes unconfined quark matter.