QCD is expected to have a rich phase structure. It is empirically known to be difficult to access low temperature and nonzero chemical potential $mu$ regions in lattice QCD simulations. We address this issue in a lattice QCD with the use of a dimensional reduction formula of the fermion determinant. We investigate spectral properties of a reduced matrix of the reduction formula. Lattice simulations with different lattice sizes show that the eigenvalues of the reduced matrix follow a scaling law for the temporal size $N_t$. The properties of the fermion determinant are examined using the reduction formula. We find that as a consequence of the $N_t$ scaling law, the fermion determinant becomes insensitive to $mu$ as $T$ decreases, and $mu$-independent at T=0 for $mu<m_pi/2$. The $N_t$ scaling law provides two types of the low temperature limit of the fermion determinant: (i) for low density and (ii) for high-density. The fermion determinant becomes real and the theory is free from the sign problem in both cases. In case of (ii), QCD approaches to a theory, where quarks interact only in spatial directions, and gluons interact via the ordinary Yang-Mills action. The partition function becomes exactly $Z_3$ invariant even in the presence of dynamical quarks because of the absence of the temporal interaction of quarks. The reduction formula is also applied to the canonical formalism and Lee-Yang zero theorem. We find characteristic temperature dependences of the canonical distribution and of Lee-Yang zero trajectory. Using an assumption on the canonical partition function, we discuss physical meaning of those temperature dependences and show that the change of the canonical distribution and Lee-Yang zero trajectory are related to the existence/absence of $mu$-induced phase transitions.
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