Trace Anomaly and Quasi-Particles in Finite Temperature SU(N) Gauge Theory

TL;DR

This paper models deconfined SU(N) gauge theory matter as a gas of quasi-particles with temperature-dependent mass, successfully matching lattice data for trace anomaly and energy density.

Contribution

It introduces a quasi-particle model with a temperature-dependent mass to describe finite temperature SU(N) gauge theory, linking critical behavior and high-temperature limits.

Findings

Model reproduces lattice results for trace anomaly.

Mass behavior aligns with critical phenomena near transition.

High-temperature limit matches T-proportional mass expectation.

Abstract

We consider deconfined matter in SU(N) gauge theory as an ideal gas of transversely polarized quasi-particle modes having a temperature-dependent mass m(T). Just above the transition temperature, the mass is assumed to be determined by the critical behavior of the energy density and the screening length in the medium. At high temperature, it becomes proportional to T as the only remaining scale. The resulting (trace anomaly based) interaction measure Delta=(e - 3P)/T^4 and energy density are found to agree well with finite temperature SU(3) lattice calculations.