Towards understanding thermal jet quenching via lattice simulations

Abstract

After reviewing how simulations employing classical lattice gauge theory permit to test a conjectured Euclideanization property of a light-cone Wilson loop in a thermal non-Abelian plasma, we show how Euclidean data can in turn be used to estimate the transverse collision kernel, C(k_perp), characterizing the broadening of a high-energy jet. First results, based on data produced recently by Panero et al, suggest that C(k_perp) is enhanced over the known NLO result in a soft regime k_perp < a few T. The shape of k_perp^3 C(k_perp) is consistent with a Gaussian at small k_perp.