Heavy-quark free energies, internal-energy and entropy contributions

Abstract

We present lattice QCD results on heavy-quark free energies, extract from its temperature dependence the entropy and internal-energy contributions, and discuss the onset of medium effects that lead to screening of static quark–antiquark sources in a thermal medium. The detailed analysis of the temperature and distance dependence of the different contributions indicate the complex non-perturbative nature of strongly interacting matter. We shall discuss the necessity to include those effects in studies on the behavior of heavy quarks, heavy-quark bound states and their dissociation in the quark–gluon plasma phase.