UV cascade in classical Yang-Mills theory via kinetic theory

Abstract

We show that classical Yang-Mills theory with statistically homogeneous and isotropic initial conditions has a kinetic description and approaches a scaling solution at late times. We find the scaling solution by explicitly solving the Boltzmann equations, including all dominant processes (elastic and number-changing). Above a scale $p_{max} \propto t^{1/7}$ the occupancy falls exponentially in $p$. For asymptotically late times and sufficiently small momenta the occupancy scales as $f(p)\propto 1/p$, but this behavior sets in only at very late time scales. We find quantitative agreement of our results with lattice simulations, for times and momenta within the range of validity of kinetic theory.