EQUATION OF STATE FOR THE SU(3) GAUGE-THEORY

By investigating the SU(3) gauge theory thermodynamics on lattices of various sizes we can control finite lattice cutoff effects. We calcula te the pressure and energy density on lattices with temporal extent N- tau = 4, 6, and 8 and spatial extent N-sigma = 16 and 32, and extrapol ate to the continuum limit. We find a deviation from ideal gas behavio r of (15-20)%, even at temperatures as high as T similar to 3T(c). A c alculation of the critical temperature for N-tau = 8 and 12 and the st ring tension for N-tau = 32 is performed to fix the temperature scale, yielding T-c/root sigma = 0.629(3) in the continuum limit.