Classical Strongly Coupled QGP II: Screening and Equation of State

Abstract

We analyze the screening and bulk energy of a classical and strongly interacting plasma of color charges, a model we recently introduced for the description of a quark-gluon plasma at T=(1-3)Tc. The partition function is organized around the Debye-Huckel limit. The linear Debye-Huckel limit is corrected by a virial expansion. For the pressure, the expansion is badly convergent even in the dilute limit. The non-linear Debye-Huckel theory is studied numerically as an alternative for moderately strong plasmas. We use Debye theory of solid to extend the analysis to the crystal phase at very strong coupling. The analytical results for the bulk energy per particle compare well with the numerical results from molecular dynamics simulation for all couplings.