  The phase transitions characterized by deconfinement and restoration of
chiral symmetry as well as the restoration of axial symmetry, at finite
temperature, are investigated in the framework of SU(2)
Polyakov-Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (PNJL) models with the U$_A$(1) anomaly. The
thermodynamics of the phase transitions, the topological susceptibility, the
meson spectrum, and, in particular, the convergence of axial and chiral
partners are analyzed, in the framework of the ordinary PNJL model and in its
extension, the entangled Polyakov-Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (EPNJL) model. The latter
incorporates entanglement between restoration of chiral symmetry and
deconfinement.
