Polyakov loop correlators and cyclic Wilson loop from lattice QCD

TL;DR

This paper investigates color screening and static quark-antiquark free energies in 2+1 flavor QCD using lattice simulations, analyzing Polyakov loop correlators, Wilson line correlators, and cyclic Wilson loops across various temperatures.

Contribution

It provides continuum limit results for Polyakov loop correlators and cyclic Wilson loops in 2+1 flavor QCD at high temperatures, including analysis of divergences.

Findings

Polyakov loop correlators computed up to 650 MeV.

Continuum limit results obtained for various lattice spacings.

Discussion of linear divergence in cyclic Wilson loop.

Abstract

We discuss color screening in 2+1 flavor QCD in terms of free energies of a static quark-antiquark pair. Thermal modifications of long distance correlations in quark-antiquark systems are studied in terms of static meson correlators. We calculate the Polyakov loop correlator, the color-singlet Wilson line correlator in Coulomb gauge and the cyclic Wilson loop on lattices using the HISQ/Tree action and almost physical quark mases with $N_\tau= 4, 6, 8, 10, 12$. We present results in the continuum limit for temperatures up to $T \lesssim 650$ MeV and discuss the linear divergence of the cyclic Wilson loop.