Large $N_c$ Thermodynamics with Dynamical Fermions

TL;DR

This paper reports on pioneering research into the thermodynamics of QCD with dynamical fermions at large $N_c$, testing the validity of the quenched approximation by including fermionic effects in the analysis.

Contribution

First study of large $N_c$ thermodynamics with dynamical fermions, moving beyond the quenched approximation to include fermionic effects.

Findings

Preliminary results for SU(3-5) align with large $N_c$ expectations.

Automation techniques enable feasible large $N_c$ studies with dynamical fermions.

Comparison shows potential validity of quenched approximation at large $N_c$.

Abstract

We present a progress report on our investigation of the thermodynamics of QCD with $N_f=2$ flavors of dynamical Wilson fermions in the limit of a large number of colors $N_c$. To date, studies of the thermodynamics of QCD at large $N_c$ have been limited to the quenched approximation, i.e., to the behavior of pure $\mathrm{SU}(N_c)$ gauge theory at large $N_c$. This is the first study of thermodynamics at large $N_c$ using dynamical fermions, and thus the first study able to test whether the quenched approximation is a valid way to investigate large $N_c$ thermodynamics. After reviewing 't Hooft's large $N_c$ limit, we discuss the automation we use to make this study feasible, and finally compare our preliminary physics results for $\mathrm{SU}(3-5)$ with large $N_c$ expectations.