The application of quantum Langevin equations for the study of non-equilibrium relaxations is illustrated in the exactly solved quantum spherical model. Tutorial sections on the physical background of non-markovian quantum noise, the spherical model quantum phase transition, the long-time limit of the quantum Langevin equation of the spherical model and physical ageing are followed by a brief review of the solution of the non-markovian time-dependent spherical constraint and about the consequences for quantum ageing at zero temperature, after a quantum quench.
New constraints are found that must necessarily hold for Israel-Stewart-like theories of fluid dynamics to be causal far away from equilibrium. Conditions that are sufficient to ensure causality, local existence, and uniqueness of solutions in these theories are also presented. Our results hold in the full nonlinear regime, taking into account bulk and shear viscosities (at zero chemical potential), without any simplifying symmetry or near-equilibrium assumptions. Our findings provide fundamental constraints on the magnitude of viscous corrections in fluid dynamics far from equilibrium.
In heavy-ion collisions, the quark-gluon plasma is produced far from equilibrium. This regime is currently inaccessible by quantum chromodynamics (QCD) computations. We calculate shear transport and entropy far from equilibrium in a holographic model, defining a time-dependent ratio of shear viscosity to entropy density, $η/s$. Large deviations of up to 60% from its near-equilibrium value, $1/4π$, are found for realistic situations at the Large Hadron Collider. We predict the far-from-equilibrium time-dependence of $η/s$ to substantially affect the evolution of the QCD plasma and to impact the…
In this paper we give an overview of some recent progress in using holography to study various far-from-equilibrium condensed matter systems. Non-equilibrium problems are notoriously difficult to deal with, not to mention at strong coupling and including quantum effects. Remarkably, using holographic duality one can describe and follow the real time evolution of a far-from-equilibrium systems, including those which are spatially inhomogeneous and anisotropic, by solving partial differential gravity equations (PDEs). We sample developments on two broad classes of questions which are of much rec…
Fluid dynamics is traditionally thought to apply only to systems near local equilibrium. In this case, the effective theory of fluid dynamics can be constructed as a gradient series. Recent applications of resurgence suggest that this gradient series diverges, but can be Borel-resummed, giving rise to a hydrodynamic attractor solution which is well defined even for large gradients. Arbitrary initial data quickly approaches this attractor via non-hydrodynamic mode decay. This suggests the existence of a new theory of far-from-equilibrium fluid dynamics. In this work, the framework of fluid dyna…
In this paper we apply the AdS/CFT correspondence to study a strongly coupled plasma far from equilibrium with a strong emphasis on the shear behavior. The plasma serves as a model for an electrically charged quark-gluon plasma. On the gravitational side, we use an ingoing Vaidya black brane spacetime. The highest rate of mass infall is confined to a short time interval.
Shear viscosity is a crucial property of QCD matter which determines the collective behavior of the the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. Extending the near-equilibrium, high-precision investigations in theory and experiment, we take into account the fact that, in a collision, the QGP is generated far from equilibrium. We use the AdS/CFT correspondence to study a strongly coupled plasma and find a significant impact on the ratio of shear viscosity to entropy density, $η/s$. In particular, we investigate the initial heating phase and find a decrease reaching do…
