Abstract
In this paper we use the gauge/gravity duality to perform the first systematic study of the onset of hydrodynamic behavior in a hot and dense far-from-equilibrium strongly coupled relativistic fluid with a critical point. By employing a top-down holographic construction that stems from string theory, we numerically obtain the full nonlinear evolution of the far-from-equilibrium system undergoing a Bjorken expansion and address the following question: how does hydrodynamic behavior emerge in the vicinity of a critical point in the phase diagram? For the top-down holographic system analyzed in the present work, we find that the approach to hydrodynamics is strongly affected by the presence of the critical point: the closer the ratio between the chemical potential and the temperature is to its critical value, the longer it takes for the system to be well described by the equations of viscous hydrodynamics.
Highlights
Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) [1,2] is the fundamental theory of nature that describes the interactions between quarks and gluons, accounting for the vast majority of the mass of ordinary baryonic matter in the Universe [3]
By employing a top-down holographic construction that stems from string theory, we numerically obtain the full nonlinear evolution of the far-from-equilibrium system undergoing a Bjorken expansion and address the following question: how does hydrodynamic behavior emerge in the vicinity of a critical point in the phase diagram? For the top-down holographic system analyzed in the present work, we find that the approach to hydrodynamics is strongly affected by the presence of the critical point: the closer the ratio between the chemical potential and the temperature is to its critical value, the longer it takes for the system to be well described by the equations of viscous hydrodynamics
We present our results for the far-from-equilibrium Bjorken flow in the 1-R charged black hole (1RCBH) model
Summary
Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) [1,2] is the fundamental theory of nature that describes the interactions between quarks and gluons, accounting for the vast majority of the mass of ordinary baryonic matter in the Universe [3]. Not directly related to QCD, the 1RCBH model is a very attractive setup for studying far-from-equilibrium phenomena at finite temperature and density in the presence of a critical point This well-defined holographic construction allows one to investigate many different physical aspects of a strongly coupled relativistic fluid with chemical potential and critical behavior under well controlled theoretical conditions. The calculations done in the present work are all performed within a single theoretical framework, the gauge/gravity duality, and since the 1RCBH model is a top-down string theory construction, no auxiliary hypotheses or approximations are needed in order to investigate its physical properties Such a simple and well controlled theoretical setting constitutes the ideal toy model for understanding general aspects of the influence of a critical point on the hydrodynamization dynamics of out-of-equilibrium strongly coupled media.
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