QCD thermodynamics with nonzero chemical potential at $N_t=6$ and effects from heavy quarks

TL;DR

This paper investigates QCD thermodynamics at nonzero chemical potential using finer lattices, analyzing the equation of state and quark effects, including heavy quarks, relevant for early Universe cosmology.

Contribution

It extends previous lattice QCD studies to $N_t=6$, providing new insights into thermodynamics with heavy quarks and nonzero chemical potential.

Findings

Equation of state computed at $N_t=6$

Heavy quark effects quantified

Comparison with previous $N_t=4$ results

Abstract

We extend our work on QCD thermodynamics with 2+1 quark flavors at nonzero chemical potential to finer lattices with $N_t=6$. We study the equation of state and other thermodynamic quantities, such as quark number densities and susceptibilities, and compare them with our previous results at $N_t=4$. We also calculate the effects of the addition of the charm and bottom quarks on the equation of state at zero and nonzero chemical potential. These effects are important for cosmological studies of the early Universe.