The QCD equation of state at finite temperature and density

Room: 202 Physics Bldg.

The low-energy phase of the theory of strong interactions, Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), features a remarkable property of confinement - the spectrum contains composite, color-neutral states, while states with non-zero color charge are not observed. At high temperatures and/or densities the strongly interacting matter undergoes a transition into the deconfined phase called Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP). The properties of QGP are being studied experimentally at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) at BNL and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. On the energy scales accessible to the experiments the theory is still strongly coupled and lattice gauge theory provides a non-perturbative approach for solving it with stochastic methods. The equation of state of QGP is an important input into phenomenological modeling of the relativistic heavy-ion collisions, required for interpretation of the experimental results. I review ab initio lattice calculations of the equation of state at finite temperature and density, the methodology and challenges involved and present some recent results.

Alexei Bazavov Michigan State University

Host: Judah Unmuth- Yockey, Contact: Yudaisy Salomon Sargenton, 315-443-3901