In this contribution we present an alternative scenario for the large elliptic flow observed in relativistic heavy ion collisions. Motivated by recent results from Lattice QCD on flavor off-diagonal susceptibilities we argue that the matter right above $T_{c}$ can be described by single-particle dynamics in a repulsive single-particle potential, which in turn gives rise to elliptic flow. These ideas can be tested experimentally by measuring elliptic flow of heavy quarks, preferably via the measurement of $J/Ψ$ elliptic flow.
We show from covariant transport theory that, for a massless ideal gas equation of state, even a small shear viscosity to entropy density ratio $η\approx s/(4 π)$ generates significant 15-30% dissipative corrections to elliptic flow for conditions expected in mid-peripheral (b = 8 fm) Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} \sim 200$ GeV at RHIC.
Using viscous relativistic hydrodynamics we show that systematic studies of the impact parameter dependence of the eccentricity scaled elliptic flow can distinguish between different models for the calculation of the initial source eccentricity. This removes the largest present uncertainty in the extraction of the specific viscosity of the matter created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions from precise elliptic flow measurements.
Effect of shear viscosity on elliptic flow is studied in causal dissipative hydrodynamics in 2+1 dimensions. Elliptic flow is reduced in viscous dynamics. Causal evolution of minimally viscous fluid ($η/s$=0.08), can explain the PHENIX data on elliptic flow in 16-23% Au+Au collisions up to $p_T\approx$3.6 GeV. In contrast, ideal hydrodynamics, can explain the same data only up to $p_T\approx$1.5 GeV. $p_T$ spectra of identified particles are also better explained in minimally viscous fluid than in ideal dynamics. However, saturation of elliptic flow at large $p_T$ is not reproduced.
The correlation between the elliptic flow $v_2$ scaled by the impact parameter $b$ and the shear viscosity $η$ as well as the specific viscosity $η/s$, defined as the ratio of the shear viscosity to the entropy density $s$, is investigated for the first time in intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions based on an isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamic model. The elliptic flow is calculated at balance energies to exclude the geometric influence such as the blocking effect from the spectators. Our study shows that $v_{2}/b$ decreases almost linearly with increasing $η$, consistent with that…
We estimate the effects of viscosity on the phase space distribution appearing in the Cooper-Frye formula within the framework of the Grad's fourteen moment method and find that there are non-trivialities in the discussion of a multi-component system. We calculate the viscous corrections of particle spectra and elliptic flow coefficients from the distortion of the distribution using the flow and the hypersurface taken from a (3+1)-dimensional ideal hydrodynamic simulation. We see that the bulk viscosity have visible effects on particle spectra. The results suggest we should treat both shear an…
We show that the centrality and system-size dependence of elliptic flow measured at RHIC are fully described by a simple model based on eccentricity scaling and incomplete thermalization. We argue that the elliptic flow is at least 25% below the (ideal) ``hydrodynamic limit'', even for the most central Au-Au collisions. This lack of perfect equilibration allows for estimates of the effective parton cross section in the Quark-Gluon Plasma and of its viscosity to entropy density ratio. We also show how the initial conditions affect the transport coefficients and thermodynamic quantities extracte…
I calculate the first correction to the thermal distribution function of an expanding gas due to shear viscosity. With this modified distribution function I estimate viscous corrections to spectra, elliptic flow, and HBT radii in hydrodynamic simulations of heavy ion collisions using the blast wave model. For reasonable values of the shear viscosity, viscous corrections become of order one when the transverse momentum of the particle is larger than 1.7 GeV. This places a bound on the $p_{T}$ range accessible to hydrodynamics for this observable. Shear corrections to elliptic flow cause $v_{2}(…
Bulk viscosity suppresses elliptic flow v_2, as does shear viscosity. It can thus not be neglected when extracting the shear viscosity from elliptic flow data. We here explore uncertainties in the bulk viscous contribution to viscous v_2 suppression that arise from presently uncontrolled uncertainties in the initial value of the bulk viscous pressure and its microscopic relaxation time.
We examine the evolution of quark-gluon plasma (QGP) droplets with viscous hydrodynamics and analyze the pion transverse-momentum spectrum, elliptic flow, and Hanbury-Brown-Twiss (HBT) interferometry in a granular source model consisting of viscous QGP droplets. The shear viscosity of the QGP droplet speeds up and slows down the droplet evolution in the central and peripheral regions of the droplet, respectively. The effect of the bulk viscosity on the evolution is negligible. Although there are viscous effects on the droplet evolution, the pion momentum spectrum and elliptic flow change littl…
In the Israel-Stewart's theory of second order hydrodynamics, we have analysed the recent PHENIX data on charged particles elliptic flow in Au+Au collisions. PHENIX data demand more viscous fluid in peripheral collisions than in central collisions. Over a broad range of collision centrality (0-10%- 50-60%), viscosity to entropy ratio ($η/s$) varies between 0-0.17.
We investigate the influence of a temperature-dependent shear viscosity over entropy density ratio eta/s on the transverse momentum spectra and elliptic flow of hadrons in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. We find that the elliptic flow in sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC is dominated by the viscosity in the hadronic phase and in the phase transition region, but largely insensitive to the viscosity of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). At the highest LHC energy, the elliptic flow becomes sensitive to the QGP viscosity and insensitive to the hadronic viscosity.
Effects of the bulk viscosity on the elliptic flow are studied. To introduce a realistic equation of state and transport coefficients, we apply the results of the lattice QCD and hadron resonance gas calculations for these quantities. We found that the bulk viscosity acts in a non trivial manner on the elliptic flow $v_{2}$. The reduction of $v_{2}$ is more effective at low $p_{T}$ compared to the case of shear viscosity, whereas at high $p_{T}$, the situation is reversed, leading to $v_{2}$ enhancement. We argue that this is caused by the competition of the critical behaviors of the equation …
In this contribution we summarize recent progress in understanding the shear viscosity of strongly correlated dilute Fermi gases. We discuss predictions from kinetic theory, and show how these predictions can be tested using recent experimental data on elliptic flow. We find agreement between theory and experiments in the high temperature regime $T\gg T_F$, where $T_F$ is the the temperature where quantum degeneracy effects become important. In the low temperature regime, $T\sim T_F$, the strongest constraints on the shear viscosity come from experimental studies of the damping of collective m…
Taking into account of entropy generation during evolution of a viscous fluid, we have estimated inverse Knudsen number, ideal hydrodynamic limit for elliptic flow and QGP viscosity to entropy ratio in $\sqrt{s}$=62 and 200 GeV Cu+Cu/Au+Au collisions. Viscosity to entropy ratio is estimated as $η/s=0.17\pm 0.10\pm 0.20$, the first error is statistical, the second one is systematic. In a central Au+Au collision, inverse Knudsen number is $\approx 2.80\pm 1.63$, which presumably small for complete equilibration. In peripheral collisions it is even less. Ideal hydrodynamic limit for elliptic flow…
The elliptic flow $v_2$ and the ratio of the shear viscosity over the entropy density, $η/s$, of gluon matter are calculated from the perturbative QCD (pQCD) based parton cascade Boltzmann approach of multiparton scatterings. For Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200$A GeV the gluon plasma generates large $v_2$ values measured at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Standard pQCD yields $η/s\approx 0.08-0.15$ as small as the lower bound found from the anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory conjecture.
Within a covariant parton cascade, we discuss the impact of both finite shear viscosity $η$ and freeze-out dynamics on the elliptic flow generated at RHIC. We find that the enhancement of $η/s$ in the cross-over region of the QGP phase transition cannot be neglected in order to extract the information from the QGP phase. We also point out that the elliptic flow $v_2(p_T)$ for a fluid at $η/s \sim 0.1-0.2$ is consistent with the one needed by quark number scaling drawing a nice consistency between the nearly perfect fluid property of QGP and the coalescence process.
We study the effects of bulk viscosity on p_T spectra and elliptic flow in heavy ion collisions at RHIC. We argue that direct effect of the bulk viscosity on the evolution of the velocity field is small, but corrections to the freezeout distributions can be significant. These effects are dominated by chemical non-equilibration in the hadronic phase. We show that a non-zero bulk viscosity in the range $ζ/s \lsim 0.05$ improves the description of spectra and flow at RHIC.
We perform viscous hydrodynamic calculations in 2+1 dimensions to investigate the influence of bulk viscosity on the viscous suppression of elliptic flow in non-central heavy-ion collisions at RHIC energies. Bulk and shear viscous effects on the evolution of radial and elliptic flow are studied with different model assumptions for the transport coefficients. We find that the temperature dependence of the relaxation time for the bulk viscous pressure, especially its critical slowing down near the quark-hadron phase transition at T_c, partially offsets effects from the strong growth of the bulk …
We explore the influence of a temperature-dependent shear viscosity over entropy density ratio $η/s$ on the azimuthal anisotropies v_2 and v_4 of hadrons at various rapidities. We find that in Au+Au collisions at full RHIC energy, $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV, the flow anisotropies are dominated by hadronic viscosity at all rapidities, whereas in Pb+Pb collisions at the LHC energy, $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=2760$ GeV, the flow coefficients are affected by the viscosity both in the plasma and hadronic phases at midrapidity, but the further away from midrapidity, the more dominant the hadronic viscosity is. We …
In this talk, we report on our results about the computation of the elliptic flow of the quark-gluon-plasma produced in relativistic heavy ion collisions, simulating the expansion of the fireball by solving the relativistic Boltzmann equation for the parton distribution function tuned at a fixed shear viscosity to entropy density ratio $η/s$. We emphasize the role of saturation in the initial gluon spectrum modelling the shattering of the color glass condensate, causing the initial distribution to be out of equilibrium. We find that the saturation reduces the efficiency in building-up the elli…
Elliptic flow measurements at RHIC suggest that quark gluon plasma flows with very little viscosity compared to weak coupling expectations, challenging theorists to explain why this fluid is so nearly ``perfect''. It is therefore vital to find quantitative experimental information on the viscosity of the plasma. We propose that measurements of transverse momentum fluctuations can be used to determine the shear viscosity. We use current data to estimate the viscosity-to-entropy ratio in the range from 0.08 to 0.3, and discuss how future measurements can reduce this uncertainty.
In the Israel-Stewart's theory of second order hydrodynamics, we have simulated $\sqrt{s}$=2.76 TeV Pb+Pb collisions. ALICE data for the centrality dependence of charged particles multiplicity, $p_T$ spectra in 0-5% collisions, centrality dependence of integrated and differential elliptic flow are analysed. Analysis indicate that while ALICE data on charged particles multiplicity or $p_T$ spectra do not demand any viscosity, viscosity is demanded by the elliptic flow data. From a simulataneous fit to all the data sets, viscosity to entropy ratio in $\sqrt{s}_{NN}$=2.76 TeV Pb+Pb collisions is …
It is shown that a simultaneous comparison of both elliptic and triangular flow from (2+1)-dimensional viscous fluid dynamics with recent measurements in Pb+Pb collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) favors a small specific shear viscosity (eta/s)_QGP approximately equal to 1/(4pi) for the quark-gluon plasma. Using this viscosity value, the relative magnitude of the elliptic and triangular flow is well described with Monte-Carlo Glauber (MC-Glauber) initial conditions while Monte-Carlo Kharzeev-Levin-Nardi (MC-KLN) initial conditions require twice as large viscosity to reproduce the elli…
A new framework for evaluating hydrodynamic models of relativistic heavy ion collisions has been developed. This framework, a Comprehesive Heavy Ion Model Evaluation and Reporting Algorithm (CHIMERA) has been implemented by augmenting UVH 2+1D viscous hydrodynamic model with eccentricity fluctuations, pre-equilibrium flow, and the Ultra-relativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamic (UrQMD) hadronic cascade. A range of initial temperatures and shear viscosity to entropy ratios were evaluated for four initial profiles, $N_{part}$ and $N_{coll}$ scaling with and without pre-equilibrium flow. The model r…
Within a parton cascade approach we investigate the scaling of the differential elliptic flow $v_2(p_T)$ with eccentricity $ε_x$ and system size and its sensitivity to finite shear viscosity. We present calculations for shear viscosity to entropy density ratio $η/s$ in the range from $1/4π$ up to $1/π$, finding that the $v_2$ saturation value varies by about a factor 2. Scaling of $v_2(p_T)/ε_x$ is seen also for finite $η/s$ which indicates that it does not prove a perfect hydrodynamical behavior, but is compatible with a plasma at finite $η/s$. Introducing a suitable freeze-out condition, we …
We investigate fluid-to-particle conversion using the usual Cooper-Frye approach but with more general local equilibrium distributions than the Boltzmann or Bose/Fermi distributions typically used. Even though we study ideal fluids (i.e., shear stress and bulk pressure are zero everywhere), we find a suppression of elliptic flow (v2) at high transverse momenta (pT>1.5 GeV/c), relative to results obtained with the traditional Boltzmann distributions. The non-viscous suppression shows qualitatively similar features to the well-known shear viscous suppression of v2; for example, it increases with…
We study the influence of a temperature-dependent shear viscosity over entropy density ratio $η/s$, different shear relaxation times $τ_π$, as well as different initial conditions on the transverse momentum spectra of charged hadrons and identified particles. We investigate the azimuthal flow asymmetries as a function of both collision energy and centrality. The elliptic flow coefficient turns out to be dominated by the hadronic viscosity at RHIC energies. Only at higher collision energies the impact of the viscosity in the QGP phase is visible in the flow asymmetries. Nevertheless, the shear …
The interplay between shear and bulk viscosities on the flow harmonics, $v_n$'s, at RHIC is investigated using the newly developed relativistic 2+1 hydrodynamical code v-USPhydro that includes bulk and shear viscosity effects both in the hydrodynamic evolution and also at freeze-out. While shear viscosity is known to attenuate the flow harmonics, we find that the inclusion of bulk viscosity decreases the shear viscosity-induced suppression of the flow harmonics bringing them closer to their values in ideal hydrodynamical calculations. Depending on the value of the bulk viscosity to entropy den…
Charged particles $p_T$ spectra and elliptic flow in 0-60% Au+Au collisions at RHIC are analyzed in a hydrodynamic model with hot, hadronic resonance gas in the initial state. Physically conceivable hadronic resonance gas, thermalized in the time scale $τ_i$=1 fm, at a (central) temperature $T_i$=220 MeV, with viscosity to entropy ratio $η/s$=0.24, reasonably well explains $p_T$ spectra in all the collision centralities. Centrality dependence of elliptic flow however demands continual increase of viscosity to entropy ratio with centrality.
We show how the measurement of appropriately constructed particle-energy/momentum correlations allows access to the bulk viscosity of strongly interacting hadron matter in heavy ion collisions. This measurement can be performed by the LHC and RHIC experiments in events with high-particle multiplicity, following up on existing estimates of the shear viscosity based on elliptic flow.
We study holographic RG flow of the shear viscosity tensor of anisotropic, strongly coupled N=4 super-Yang-Mills plasma by using its type IIB supergravity dual in anisotropic bulk spacetime. We find that the shear viscosity tensor has three independent components in the anisotropic bulk spacetime away from the boundary, and one of the components has a non-trivial RG flow while the other two have a trivial one. For the component of the shear viscosity tensor with non-trivial RG flow, we derive its RG flow equation, and solve the equation analytically to second order in the anisotropy parameter …
With the new viscous hydrodynamic + hadron cascade hybrid code VISHNU, a rather precise (O(25%)) extraction of the QGP shear viscosity (eta/s)_QGP from heavy-ion elliptic flow data is possible if the initial eccentricity of the collision fireball is known with <5% accuracy. At this point, eccentricities from initial state models differ by up to 20%, leading to an O(100%) uncertainty for (eta/s)_QGP. It is shown that a simultaneous comparison of elliptic and triangular flow, v_2 and v_3, puts strong constraints on initial state models and can largely eliminate the present uncertainty in (eta/s)…
We investigate particle spectra and elliptic flow coefficients in relativistic heavy ion collisions by taking into account the distortion of phase space distributions due to bulk viscosity at freezeout. We first calculate the distortion of phase space distributions in a multi-component system within the Grad's fourteen moment method. We find some subtle issues when one matches macroscopic variables with microscopic momentum distributions in a multi-component system and develop a consistent procedure to uniquely determine the corrections in the phase space distributions. Next, we calculate part…
We study the effects of bulk viscosity on pT spectra and elliptic flow in heavy ion collisions. For this purpose we compute the dissipative correction df to the single particle distribution functions in leading-log QCD, and in several simplified models. We consider, in particular, the relaxation time approximation and a kinetic model for the hadron resonance gas. We implement these distribution functions in a hydrodynamic simulation of Au + Au collisions at RHIC. We find significant corrections due to bulk viscosity in hadron pT spectra and the differential elliptic flow parameter v2(pT). Thes…
In a hydrodynamic model, with fluctuating initial conditions, the correlation between triangular flow and initial spatial triangularity is studied. The triangular flow, even in ideal fluid, is only weakly correlated with the initial triangularity. The correlation is largely reduced in viscous fluid. Elliptic flow on the other hand appears to be strongly correlated with initial eccentricity. Weak correlation between triangular flow and initial triangularity indicate that a part of triangular flow is unrelated to initial triangularity. Triangularity acquired during the fluid evolution also contr…
We give a new description to obtain the shear viscosity in QCD at finite temperature. Firstly, we obtain the correlation function of the renormalized energy-momentum tensor using the gradient flow method. Secondly, we estimate the spectral function from the smeared correlation functions using the sparse modeling method. The combination of these two methods looks promising to determine the shear viscosity precisely.
Collective flow, its anisotropies and its event-to-event fluctuations in relativistic heavy-ion collisions, and the extraction of the specific shear viscosity of quark-gluon plasma (QGP) from collective flow data collected in heavy-ion collision experiments at RHIC and LHC are reviewed. Specific emphasis is placed on the similarities between the Big Bang of our universe and the Little Bangs created in heavy-ion collisions.
We use the Boltzmann equation in the relaxation time approximation to study the expansion of a dilute Fermi gas at unitarity. We focus, in particular, on the approach to the hydrodynamic limit. Our main finding are: i) In the regime that has been studied experimentally hydrodynamic effects beyond the Navier-Stokes approximation are small, ii) mean field corrections to the Boltzmann equation are not important, iii) experimental data imply that freezeout occurs very late, that means that the relaxation time remains smaller than the expansion time during the entire evolution of the system, iv) th…
Using the (2+1)-dimensional viscous hydrodynamic code VISH2+1, we present systematic studies of the dependence of pion and proton transverse momentum spectra and their elliptic flow in 200 A GeV Au+Au collisions on the parameters of the hydrodynamic model (thermalization time, initial entropy density distribution, decoupling temperature, equation of state, and specific shear viscosity eta/s). We identify a tension between the slope of the proton spectra, which (within hydrodynamic simulations that assume a constant shear viscosity to entropy density ratio) prefer larger eta/s values, and the s…
The eddy viscosity for a turbulent compressible fluid with a relativistic equation of state is derived. Compressibility allows for sound modes, but the eddy viscosity in the shear mode is found to be the same as for incompressible fluids. For two space dimensions (which is the relevant case for the dynamics of relativistic heavy-ion collisions) the eddy viscosity in the shear mode is negative, reducing the effective viscosity below its microscopic value. This could explain the tiny viscosity found at RHIC. Implications for the experimentally accessible elliptic flow coefficient at the LHC are …
