$T$-matrix Analysis of Static Wilson Line Correlators from Lattice QCD at Finite Temperature

Abstract

We utilize a previously constructed thermodynamic $T$-matrix approach to the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) to calculate Wilson line correlators (WLCs) of a static quark-antiquark pair and apply them to the results from 2+1-flavor lattice-QCD (lQCD) computations with realistic pion mass. The self-consistent $T$-matrix results, which include constraints from the lQCD equation of state in the light-parton sector, can describe the lQCD data for WLCs fairly well once refinements of the input parameters are implemented. In particular, the input potential requires less screening than used in previous $T$-matrix analyses. Pertinent predictions for the spectral and transport properties of the QGP are discussed, including the spatial diffusion coefficient for heavy quarks which turns out to have a rather weak temperature dependence, in approximate agreement with recent lQCD results.