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arXiv · 0807.1093

Decoherence and Entropy Production in Relativistic Nuclear Collisions

Rainer J. Fries·Berndt Muller·Andreas Schafer
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Abstract

Short thermalization times of less than 1 fm/c for quark and gluon matter have been suggested by recent experiments at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). It has been difficult to justify this rapid thermalization in first-principle calculations based on perturbation theory or the color glass condensate picture. Here, we address the related question of the decoherence of the gluon field, which is a necessary component of thermalization. We present a simplified leading-order computation of the decoherence time of a gluon ensemble subject to an incoming flux of Weizsacker-Williams gluons. We also discuss the entropy produced during the decoherence process and its relation to the entropy in the final state which has been measured experimentally.

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Rainer J. Fries, Berndt Muller, Andreas Schafer. 2008-07-07. Decoherence and Entropy Production in Relativistic Nuclear Collisions. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevc.79.034904

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