Thermal field theory and the QCD Equation of State

TL;DR

This paper reviews the formulation of thermal QCD, focusing on the Equation of State and phase diagram, highlighting how thermal effective field theories help understand the properties of the quark-gluon plasma.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of thermal QCD, including the Euclidean formalism, effective theories, and the thermodynamics of the QCD plasma.

Findings

Description of the Euclidean path integral formalism for thermal QCD

Analysis of the Equation of State for the QCD plasma

Overview of the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter

Abstract

This Chapter introduces QCD at finite temperature and density. We first present the formulation of the thermal theory in the Euclidean path integral formalism. We then describe how the strong dynamics at high temperature can be inspected through thermal effective field theories. As a concrete example of thermodynamic quantity, we discuss the Equation of State, which characterises the equilibrium properties of the QCD plasma. We finally conclude with an overview of the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter.