A non-perturbative estimate of the heavy quark momentum diffusion coefficient

Understand

We estimate the momentum diffusion coefficient of a heavy quark within a pure SU(3) plasma at a temperature of about 1.5Tc.

• Large-scale Monte Carlo simulations on a series of lattices extending up to 192^3*48 permit us to carry out a continuum extrapolation of the so-called colour-electric imaginary-time correlator.
• The extrapolated correlator is analyzed with the help of theoretically motivated models for the corresponding spectral function.
• Evidence for a non-zero transport coefficient is found and, incorporating systematic uncertainties reflecting model assumptions, we obtain kappa = (1.8 - 3.4)T^3.