Toward the theory of strongly coupled Quark-Gluon Plasma

RHIC data have shown robust collective flows, strong jet and charm quenching, and charm flow. Recently ``conical flows'' from damped jets were seen. Non-Abelian classical strongly coupled plasmas were introduced and studied via molecular dynamics, with first results for its transport (diffusion and viscosity) reported. Quantum-mechanical studies reveal the survival for $T>T_c$ of the lowest binary states, including colored ones, and also of some manybody ones such as bary...

This brief review summarizes the main experimental discoveries made at RHIC and then discusses their implications. The robust collective flow phenomena are well described by ideal hydrodynamics, with the Equation of State (EoS) predicted by lattice simulations. However the transport properties turned out to be unexpected, with rescattering cross section one-to-two orders of magnitude larger than expected from perturbative QCD. These and other theoretical developments indicate...

RHIC data have shown robust collective flows, including recent spectacular ``conical flow'' from quenched jets: that confirms that QGP above the critical line is in a strongly coupled regime. One way to study Non-Abelian classical strongly coupled plasmas is via molecular dynamics, which was recently extended to plasmas with electric and magntic charges. First results on its transport (diffusion and viscosity) are reported. AdS/CFT correspondence is another actively pursuit...

We propose a model for the description of strongly interacting quarks and gluon quasiparticles at $T=(1-3)T_c$, as a classical and nonrelativistic colored Coulomb gas. The sign and strength of the inter-particle interactions are fixed by the scalar product of their classical {\it color vectors} subject to Wong's equations. The model displays a number of phases as the Coulomb coupling is increased ranging from a gas, to a liquid, to a crystal with antiferromagnetic-like color ...

In this review, we present an up-to-date phenomenological summary of research developments in the physics of the Quark--Gluon Plasma (QGP). A short historical perspective and theoretical motivation for this rapidly developing field of contemporary particle physics is provided. In addition, we introduce and discuss the role of the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) ground state, non-perturbative and lattice QCD results on the QGP properties, as well as the transport models used to m...

This review cover our current understanding of strongly coupled Quark-Gluon Plasma (sQGP), especially theoretical progress in (i) explaining the RHIC data by hydrodynamics, (ii) describing lattice data using electric-magnetic duality; (iii) understanding of gauge-string duality known as AdS/CFT and its application for "conformal" plasma. In view of interdisciplinary nature of the subject, we include brief introduction into several topics "for pedestrians". Some fundamental qu...

One of the main activities in high-energy and nuclear physics is the search for the so-called quark-gluon plasma, a new state of matter which should have existed a few microseconds after the Big Bang. A quark-gluon plasma consists of free color charges, i.e. quarks and gluons, interacting by the strong (instead of electromagnetic) force. Theoretical considerations predict that the critical temperature for the phase transition from nuclear matter to a quark-gluon plasma is abo...

Based on the quasiparticle model of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP), a color quantum path-integral Monte-Carlo (PIMC) method for calculation of thermodynamic properties and -- closely related to the latter -- a Wigner dynamics method for calculation of transport properties of the QGP are formulated. The QGP partition function is presented in the form of a color path integral with a new relativistic measure instead of the Gaussian one traditionally used in the Feynman-Wiener path...

I review recent developments in the phenomenological study of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) transport properties based on a personal selection of results that were presented at Quark Matter 2019. The constraints on the temperature dependence of QGP shear and bulk viscosity are summarized. I discuss new theory advancements towards more realistic 3D dynamical simulations of heavy-ion collisions at finite baryon density. The challenges and opportunities of applying hydrodynamics ...

Flow measurements are reviewed with particular emphasis on the hydrodynamic character of elliptic flow at RHIC. Hydrodynamic scaling compatible with the production of highly thermalized matter having a high degree of collective interactions and extremely low viscosity, is observed for a broad selection of the data. These properties suggest the production of a new state of strongly interacting nuclear matter at extremely high density and temperature where the relevant degrees ...