Using the geometry of a double-layered torus, we investigate the deconfining phase transition of pure SU(3) lattice gauge theory by Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations. In one layer, called “outside,” the temperature is set below the deconfining temperature and in the other, called “inside,” it is iterated to a pseudotransition temperature. Lattice sizes are chosen in a range suggested by the physical volumes achieved in relativistic heavy ion collisions, and both temperatures are kept close enough to stay in the SU(3) scaling region, which is required for approaching a quantum continuum limit. Properties of the transition are studied as a function of the volume for three outside temperatures. When compared with infinite volume extrapolations, small volume corrections of the deconfining temperature and width compete with those found by including quarks. Effective finite-size scaling exponents of the specific heat and Polyakov loop susceptibilities are also calculated.

• Received 6 June 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.88.074507