Quasiparticle description of (2+1)- flavor lattice QCD equation of state

Abstract

A quasiparticle model has been employed to describe the ($2+1$)-flavor lattice QCD equation of state with physical quark masses. The interaction part of the equation of state has been mapped to the effective fugacities of otherwise noninteracting quasigluons and quasiquarks. The mapping is found to be exact for the equation of state. The model leads to nontrivial dispersion relations for quasipartons. The dispersion relations, effective quasiparticle number densities, and trace anomaly have been investigated employing the model. A virial expansion for the equation of state has further been obtained to investigate the role of interactions in quark-gluon plasma. Finally, Debye screening in quark-gluon plasma has been studied employing the model. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.84.074013 © 2011 American Physical Society