Equation of state of strongly coupled quark--gluon plasma -- Path integral Monte Carlo results

TL;DR

This paper uses path integral Monte Carlo simulations to study the equation of state and correlations in a strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma at temperatures from 1.1 to 3 times the critical temperature, showing liquid-like behavior.

Contribution

It extends classical simulations to the quantum regime for quark-gluon plasma, providing new insights into its thermodynamics and correlations.

Findings

Good agreement with lattice results for the equation of state

Strong correlations and liquid-like behavior observed

Pair distribution and color correlation functions computed

Abstract

A strongly coupled plasma of quark and gluon quasiparticles at temperatures from $ 1.1 T_c$ to $3 T_c$ is studied by path integral Monte Carlo simulations. This method extends previous classical nonrelativistic simulations based on a color Coulomb interaction to the quantum regime. We present the equation of state and find good agreement with lattice results. Further, pair distribution functions and color correlation functions are computed indicating strong correlations and liquid-like behavior.