Transport coefficients in the Polyakov quark meson coupling model: A relaxation time approximation

We compute the transport coefficients, namely, the coefficients of shear and bulk viscosities, as well as thermal conductivity for hot and dense matter. The calculations are performed within the Polyakov quark meson model. The estimation of the transport coefficients is made using the Boltzmann kinetic equation within the relaxation time approximation. The energy-dependent relaxation time is estimated from meson-meson scattering, quark-meson scattering, and quark-quark scattering within the model. In our calculations, the shear viscosity to entropy ratio and the coefficient of thermal conductivity show a minimum at the critical temperature, while the ratio of bulk viscosity to entropy density exhibits a peak at this transition point. The effect of confinement modeled through a Polyakov loop potential plays an important role both below and above the critical temperature.