Phase Structure and Dynamics of QCD-- A Functional Perspective

Abstract

The understanding of the phase structure and the fundamental properties of QCD matter from its microscopic description requires appropriate first-principle approaches. Here I review the progress towards a quantitative first-principle continuum approach within the framework of the Functional Renormalization group established by the fQCD collaboration. I focus on recent quantitative results for quenched QCD and Yang-Mills theory in the vacuum before addressing the calculation of dynamical quantities such as spectral functions and transport coefficients in this framework.