Free energies of static three quark systems

TL;DR

This study investigates the free energies of static three-quark systems in SU(3) gauge theory at finite temperature, revealing how baryonic free energies relate to quark pair energies above the critical temperature.

Contribution

It introduces a method to compare free energies across different color channels and quark configurations using renormalized energies.

Findings

Connected free energies of three-quark systems are sums of quark pair free energies.

The approach allows comparison of free energies across different color states.

Results are applicable for temperatures above the deconfinement transition.

Abstract

We study the behaviour of free energies of baryonic systems composed of three heavy quarks on the lattice in SU(3) pure gauge theory at finite temperature. For all temperatures above $T_c$ we find that the connected part of the singlet (decuplet) free energy of the three quark system is given by the sum of the connected parts of the free energies of $qq$-triplets (-sextets). Using renormalized free energies we can compare free energies in different colour channels as well as those of $qq$- and $qqq$-systems on an unique energy scale.