Thermal Green’s Functions of the Energy-Momentum Tensor and Transport Coefficients of the SU(3) Yang-Mills Gas

Abstract

Forthcoming heavy ion experiments¹ will probe the existence of a quark-gluon plasma at high temperatures. The equilibrium properties of the plasma phase have been studied in lattice Monte Carlo simulations². However, in a heavy ion experiment, a hot QCD plasma will not be produced in equilibrium and moreover will cool down rapidly during the subsequent expansion. To judge, for instance, the temperature decrease during the expansion phase of the plasma, an understanding of dissipative effects will be essential.