We address the evolution of heavy-quarkonium states in an expanding quark-gluon plasma by implementing effective field theory techniques in the framework of open quantum systems. In this setting we compute the nuclear modification factors for quarkonia that are $S$-wave Coulombic bound states in a strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma. The calculation is performed at an accuracy that is leading order in the heavy-quark density expansion and next-to-leading order in the multipole expansion. The quarkonium density-matrix evolution equations can be written in the Lindblad form, and, hence, they account for both dissociation and recombination. Thermal mass shifts, thermal widths and the Lindblad equation itself depend on only two nonperturbative parameters: the heavy-quark momentum diffusion coefficient and its dispersive counterpart. Finally, by numerically solving the Lindblad equation, we provide results for the $\mathrm{\Upsilon }(1S)$ and $\mathrm{\Upsilon }(2S)$ suppression.

We perform a comprehensive study of the time evolution of heavy-quarkonium states in an expanding hot QCD medium by implementing effective field theory techniques in the framework of open quantum systems. The formalism incorporates quarkonium production and its subsequent evolution in the fireball including quarkonium dissociation and recombination. We consider a fireball with a local temperature that is much smaller than the inverse size of the quarkonium and much larger than its binding energy. The calculation is performed at an accuracy that is leading order in the heavy-quark density expansion and next-to-leading order in the multipole expansion. Within this accuracy, for a smooth variation of the temperature and large times, the evolution equation can be written as a Lindblad equation. We solve the Lindblad equation numerically both for a weakly coupled quark-gluon plasma and a strongly coupled medium. As an application, we compute the nuclear modification factor for the $\mathrm{\Upsilon }(1S)$ and $\mathrm{\Upsilon }(2S)$ states. We also consider the case of static quarks, which can be solved analytically. Our study fulfills three essential conditions: it conserves the total number of heavy quarks, it accounts for the non-Abelian nature of QCD, and it avoids classical approximations.

We calculate the heavy quarkonium energy levels and decay widths in a quark-gluon plasma, whose temperature T and screening mass m _D satisfy the hierarchy mα _s ≫ T ≫ mα _s ² ≫m _D (m being the heavy-quark mass), at order mα _s ⁵ . We first sequentially integrate out the scales m, mα _s and T, and, next, we carry out the calculations in the resulting effective theory using techniques of integration by regions. A collinear region is identified, which contributes at this order. We also discuss the implications of our results concerning heavy quarkonium suppression in heavy ion collisions.

We derive equations for the time evolution of the reduced density matrix of a collection of heavy quarks and antiquarks immersed in a quark gluon plasma. These equations, in their original form, rely on two approximations: the weak coupling between the heavy quarks and the plasma, the fast response of the plasma to the perturbation caused by the heavy quarks. An additional semi-classical approximation is performed. This allows us to recover results previously obtained for the abelian plasma using the influence functional formalism. In the case of QCD, specific features of the color dynamics make the implementation of the semi-classical approximation more involved. We explore two approximate strategies to solve numerically the resulting equations in the case of a quark-antiquark pair. One involves Langevin equations with additional random color forces, the other treats the transition between the singlet and octet color configurations as collisions in a Boltzmann equation which can be solved with Monte Carlo techniques.