Lattice QCD at non-zero chemical potential and the resonance gas model

Abstract

We present results from lattice calculations on the thermodynamics of QCD at non-zero temperature and baryon chemical potential and discuss the role of resonances for the occurrence of the transition to the quark-gluon plasma in hot and dense matter. Properties of a hadronic resonance gas are compared to lattice results on the equation of state at zero as well as non-zero baryon chemical potential. Furthermore, it is shown that the quark mass dependence of the transition temperature can be understood in terms of lines of constant energy density in a resonance gas.