Real and imaginary-time quarkonium correlators in a hot plasma

TL;DR

This paper investigates the behavior of quark-antiquark pairs in a hot plasma using an effective potential approach, revealing both screening effects and an imaginary part related to collisions, under certain Gaussian assumptions.

Contribution

It demonstrates that quarkonium propagators in a hot plasma follow a closed evolution equation with an effective potential, including both real and imaginary components, under Gaussian medium effects.

Findings

Quarkonium propagators obey a closed evolution equation in a hot plasma.

The effective potential includes screening and an imaginary part from collisions.

The approach applies when medium effects can be modeled as a Gaussian action.

Abstract

The possibility of describing the behavior of a $Q\overline{Q}$ pair in a hot plasma in terms of an effective potential is investigated. It is shown that as long as medium effects can be embodied in a gaussian action, like in the QED case, the $Q\overline{Q}$ propagator obeys a closed temporal evolution equation whose large-time behavior is governed by an effective potential. The latter, beside screening, displays also an imaginary part related to collisions.