QCD equation of state: Physical quark masses and asymptotic temperatures

Abstract

Within a phenomenological quasiparticle model, the quark mass and temperature dependence of the QCD equation of state is discussed and compared with lattice QCD results. Different approximations for the quasiparticle dispersion relations are employed, scaling properties of the equation of state with quark mass and deconfinement temperature are investigated and a continuation to asymptotically large temperatures is presented.Comment: Jan 2009. 8 pp. Contribution to the International School of Nuclear Physics - 30th Course: Heavy-Ion Collisions from the Coulomb Barrier to the Quark-Gluon Plasma, Erice, Sicily, Italy, 16-24 Sep 200