Dynamical role of Polyakov loops in the QCD thermodynamics

TL;DR

This paper investigates how Polyakov loops influence the thermodynamic properties of QCD, highlighting their dominant nonperturbative role in determining free energy and trace anomaly behavior.

Contribution

It demonstrates that Polyakov loops derived from gluonic correlators are key nonperturbative factors shaping QCD thermodynamics, especially in the SU(3) case.

Findings

Polyakov loops significantly impact free energy calculations.

Polyakov loops are crucial for understanding the trace anomaly.

Nonperturbative effects are dominant in QCD thermodynamics.

Abstract

Polyakov loops $L_a(T), a=3,8,...$ are shown to give the most important nonperturbative contribution to the thermodynamic potentials. Derived from the gluonic field correlators they enter as factors into free energy. It is shown in the $SU(3)$ case that $L_a (T)$ define to a large extent the behavior of the free energy and the trace anomaly $I(T)$, most sensitive to nonperturbative effects.