Strong correlations in hot QCD

Abstract

After reviewing briefly the basic strategy of analyzing the RHIC data, recent lattice results of the non-pertubative/strong-coupling aspects of quark-gluon plasma probed primarily by the heavy quarks are presented. In particular, free energies of static quarks in various color channels, the Debye screening mass and the spatial string tension above the pseudo-critical temperature are discussed on the basis of the full QCD simulations with staggered quarks and with Wilson quarks. Current status of the equal-time Bethe-Salpeter wave functions and the spectral functions of the charmoniums in quenched QCD simulations is also summarized. It is argued that the hot plasma above the (pseudo-)critical temperature T c is still strongly interacting up to T ∼ (1.5 − 2)T c so that hadronic bound states or resonances made of strange, charm and bottom quarks in certain channels may survive inside the plasma. An attempt to extract the spectral functions at finite T in full QCD simulations is also mentioned.

Quarkonium states in a complex-valued potential

“…In recent work, more involved calculations of quarkonium spectral functions and meson current correlators obtained from potential models have been performed [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. The results have been compared to first-principle QCD calculations performed numerically on lattices [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] which rely on the maximum entropy method [25][26][27].…”

Thermal bottomonium suppression at RHIC and LHC

“…Using such non-relativistic potential models studies of quarkonium spectral functions and meson current correlators have been performed [13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. The results have been compared to first-principles lattice QCD calculations [20][21][22][23][24][25][26] which rely on the maximum entropy method [27,28]. Additionally, there have been some lattice developments using non-relativistic lattice QCD [29].…”

Bottomonia suppression in 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions

“…[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. There have also been lattice QCD calculations of the quarkonium spectral function [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. Compared to the standard Debye-screened potential models used in early calculations, systematic analysis of the heavy quark potential in the QGP showed that the potential is complexvalued, with the imaginary part of a state's energy being related to the thermal width of the state [34].…”