Weak and strong coupling equilibration in nonabelian gauge theories
We present a direct comparison studying equilibration through kinetic theory at weak coupling and through holography at strong coupling in the same set-up. The set-up starts with a homogeneous thermal state, which then smoothly transitions through an out-of-equilibrium phase to an expanding system u...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
2016
|
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/103158 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2477-6623 |
| Summary: | We present a direct comparison studying equilibration through kinetic theory at weak coupling and through holography at strong coupling in the same set-up. The set-up starts with a homogeneous thermal state, which then smoothly transitions through an out-of-equilibrium phase to an expanding system undergoing boost-invariant flow. This first apples-to-apples comparison of equilibration provides a benchmark for similar equilibration processes in heavy-ion collisions, where the equilibration mechanism is still under debate. We find that results at weak and strong coupling can be smoothly connected by simple, empirical power-laws for the viscosity, equilibration time and entropy production of the system. |
|---|