Thermodynamics of SU(3) gauge theory on anisotropic lattices

Finite temperature SU(3) gauge theory is studied on anisotropic lattices using the standard plaquette gauge action. The equation of state is calculated on 163×8, 203×10, and 243×12 lattices with the anisotropy ξ ≡as/at=2, where as and at are the spatial and temporal lattice spacings. Unlike the case of the isotropic lattice on which Nt=4 data deviate significantly from the leading scaling behavior, the pressure and energy density on an anisotropic lattice are found to satisfy well the leading 1/Nt2 scaling from our coarsest lattice Nt/ξ=4. With three data points at Nt/ξ=4, 5 and 6, we perform a well controlled continuum extrapolation of the equation of state. Our results in the continuum limit agree with a previous result from isotropic lattices using the same action, but have smaller and more reliable errors