Classical strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma. IV. Thermodynamics

We construct an equation of state of the classical quark-gluon plasma (cQGP) valid for all values of Γ=V/K, the ratio of the mean Coulomb to kinetic energy. By enforcing the Gibbs relations, we derive the pertinent pressure and entropy densities for all Γ. For the case of an SU(2) classical gluonic plasma our results compare well with lattice simulations. We show that the strongly coupled component of the cQGP contributes significantly to the bulk thermodynamics across Tc. Alternatively, a direct fit of Γ using a lattice extracted running coupling constant implies a sharp drop in Γ and a rapid rise in the bulk thermodynamics across Tc in the cQGP, a behavior usually identified with a phase change.