Topological susceptibility at $T>T_{\rm c}$ from master-field simulations of the SU(3) gauge theory

Abstract

The topological susceptibility is computed in the SU(3) gauge theory at temperatures $T$ above the critical temperature $T_{\rm c}$ using master-field simulations of very large lattices, where the infamous topology-freezing issue is effectively bypassed. Up to $T=2.0\,T_{\rm c}$ no unusually large lattice effects are observed and the results obtained in the continuum limit confirm the expected rapid decay of the susceptibility with increasing temperature. As a byproduct, the reference gradient-flow time $t_0$ is determined in the range of lattice spacings from $0.023$ to $0.1\,{\rm fm}$ with a precision of 2 per mille.