Nonperturbative Heavy-Quark Interactions in the QGP

Abstract

We adopt a $T$-matrix approach to study quarkonium properties and heavy-quark transport in a Quark-Gluon Plasma. The $T$-matrix approach is well suited to implement potential scattering and thus provides a common framework for low-momentum transfer interactions in heavy-heavy and heavy-light quark systems. We assume that the underlying potentials can be estimated from the heavy-quark free energy computed in lattice QCD. We discuss constraints from vacuum spectroscopy, uncertainties arising from different choices of the potential, and the role of elastic and inelastic widths which are naturally accounted for in the $T$-matrix formalism.