An update on the determination of the sphaleron rate in finite temperature QCD

TL;DR

This paper updates the calculation of the sphaleron rate in finite-temperature QCD, which is crucial for understanding phenomena like axion production and the Chiral Magnetic Effect in the early universe and quark-gluon plasma.

Contribution

It extends previous work by determining the sphaleron rate in SU(3) gauge theory through the two-point function of topological charge density at finite temperature.

Findings

Refined estimate of the sphaleron rate in SU(3) gauge theory.

Improved methodology for calculating topological charge correlations.

Enhanced understanding of topological fluctuations in hot QCD plasma.

Abstract

The sphaleron rate is a key phenomenological quantity both for the axion thermal production in the Early Universe and the Chiral Magnetic Effect occurring in the Quark-Gluon Plasma in presence of a background magnetic field. In this talk we present an extension of our recent determination of the sphaleron rate, in the SU(3) gauge theory, based on the determination of the two-point function of the topological charge density at finite temperature.