Plaquette expectation value and lattice free energy of three-dimensional SU(N) gauge theory

TL;DR

This paper uses high-precision lattice simulations to analyze the plaquette expectation value and lattice free energy in three-dimensional SU(N) gauge theory, revealing N-dependence and large N behavior relevant to hot QCD.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed lattice calculation of the plaquette expectation value for multiple N in 3D SU(N) gauge theory and explores its large N limit.

Findings

Plaquette expectation value computed for N=2,3,4,5,8.

N-dependence of the non-perturbative coefficient established.

Large N limit of the plaquette expectation value characterized.

Abstract

We use high precision lattice simulations to calculate the plaquette expectation value in three-dimensional SU(N) gauge theory for N=2,3,4,5,8. Using these results, we study the N-dependence of the first non-perturbative coefficient in the weak-coupling expansion of hot QCD. We demonstrate that, in the limit of large N, the functional form of the plaquette expectation value with ultraviolet divergences subtracted is 15.9(2)-44(2)/N^2.