Theoretical Physics Colloquium
Thermalization of the quark-gluon plasma and Bose-Einstein condensation in unusual circumstances
by Prof. Jean-Paul Blaizot (IPhT-CEA Saclay, France)
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
from
to
(Asia/Kolkata)
at Colaba Campus ( AG69 )
at Colaba Campus ( AG69 )
Description |
There is robust evidence from RHIC, and now from the LHC, that matter produced in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions is (nearly) in local equilibrium. To understand how this is achieved, that is, to understand the detailed mechanisms by which the partonic degrees of freedom of the initial nuclear wave functions get freed and subsequently interact to reach local equilibrium, is a challenging problem. In this talk, I shall focus on a particular phenomenon that could play a role in the process of thermalization, namely the strong amplification of very soft gluon modes, possibly leading to the formation of a transient Bose-Einstein condensate. Aside from its potential relevance to the thermalization problem, the formation of such a condensate in relativistic systems is an interesting problem in itself. I shall report on a recent study of the onset of condensation in hot gluon systems using kinetic theory in the approximation of small scattering angles. The scaling regime that develops near the onset of condensation will be discussed. Comparison with similar phenomena in other systems (early universe cosmology, cold atom systems) will be also briefly presented. |