Drag Force on Heavy Quarks and Spatial String Tension

TL;DR

This paper explores the relationship between heavy quark drag force and spatial string tension in a strongly coupled Quark-Gluon Plasma, using gauge/string duality and lattice QCD to estimate diffusion coefficients near the critical point.

Contribution

It demonstrates that the drag coefficient for heavy quarks at low momenta is proportional to the spatial string tension, providing a non-perturbative estimate of diffusion coefficients.

Findings

Drag coefficient proportional to spatial string tension

Results consistent with existing literature

Non-perturbative estimates near the critical point

Abstract

Heavy quark transport coefficients in a strongly coupled Quark-Gluon Plasma can be evaluated using a gauge/string duality and lattice QCD. Via this duality, one can argue that for low momenta the drag coefficient for heavy quarks is proportional to the spatial string tension. Such a tension is well studied on the lattice that allows one to straightforwardly make non-perturbative estimates of the heavy quark diffusion coefficients near the critical point. The obtained results are consistent with those in the literature.