Polyakov loop fluctuations in SU(3) lattice gauge theory and an effective gluon potential

TL;DR

This paper investigates Polyakov loop fluctuations in SU(3) lattice gauge theory and (2+1)-flavor QCD, analyzing their relation to phase transitions and developing an effective gluon potential model constrained by lattice data.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive analysis of Polyakov loop susceptibilities and formulates an effective gluon potential model incorporating fluctuations constrained by lattice results.

Findings

Polyakov loop susceptibility ratios are sensitive to critical behavior.

Fermions influence Polyakov loop fluctuations significantly.

The effective model captures thermodynamics of pure gauge theory with fluctuations.

Abstract

We calculate the Polyakov loop susceptibilities in the SU(3) lattice gauge theory using the Symanzik improved gauge action on different-sized lattices. The longitudinal and transverse fluctu- ations of the Polyakov loop, as well as, that of its absolute value are considered. We analyze their properties in relation to the confinement-deconfinement phase transition. We also present results based on simulations of (2+1)-flavor QCD on 32^3 x 8 lattice using Highly Improved Staggered Quark (HISQ) action by the HotQCD collaboration. The influences of fermions on the Polyakov loop fluctuations are discussed. We show, that ratios of different susceptibilities of the Polyakov loop are sensitive probes for critical behavior. We formulate an effective model for the Polyakov loop potential and constrain its parameters from existing quenched lattice data including fluctuations. We emphasize the role of fluctuations to fully explore the thermodynamics of pure gauge theory within an effective approach.