Computation of the latent heat of the deconfinement phase transition of SU(3) Yang-Mills theory

Abstract

We investigate the thermal properties of $\mathrm{SU}(3)$ Yang-Mills theory across the deconfinement phase transition considering the framework of shifted boundary conditions in the temporal direction. By measuring the entropy density $s(T_c)/T_c^3$ on both sides of the phase transition at the critical temperature $T_c$, we can retrieve the latent heat $h$. Additionally, we compute $h$ from the discontinuity in the trace anomaly of the energy-momentum tensor. Simulations are performed at five different values of the lattice spacing, allowing us to extrapolate the results to the continuum limit. The two observables produce compatible results, giving the combined estimate $h = 1.175(10)$ in the continuum limit, achieving a precision of about 1 %. Moreover, we determine the critical temperature in physical units with permille accuracy, yielding $T_c \sqrt{t_0} = 0.24915(29)$. These results allow us to connect the confined and the deconfined phases with precision, and we present an improved computation of the Equation of State across the phase transition for temperatures between $0$ and $3.4 T_c$.