Finite Temperature QCD on the Lattice -- Status 2010

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent progress in finite temperature QCD on the lattice, highlighting large-scale simulations with improved quark actions, continuum extrapolations, and advances with Wilson and chiral quarks for better theoretical understanding.

Contribution

It summarizes the latest developments in lattice QCD at finite temperature, including simulation results and methodological improvements since 2010.

Findings

Progress in large-scale dynamical simulations of 2+1 flavor QCD

Results for thermodynamic quantities extrapolated to the continuum limit

Development of studies with Wilson-type and chiral lattice quarks

Abstract

In the last couple of years, there has been big progress in finite temperature QCD on the lattice. Large-scale dynamical simulations of 2+1 flavor QCD with various improved staggered quark actions have been started to produce results for various thermodynamic quantities which are extrapolated to the continuum limit at around physical quark masses, and thus are capable for a direct comparison with experiment. At the same time, the theoretical uneasiness with staggered-type lattice quarks motivated several groups to accelerate studies with Wilson-type quarks and lattice chiral quarks. In this review, I discuss these important developments in finite temperature QCD made in the past year.