Séminaire spécialisé

jeudi 9 décembre 2010 à 12:00

Non – Equilibrium Fluctuations at the QCD Phase Transition

Marlène Nahrgang

Frankfurt Institut for Advanced Studies, Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität

To study the QCD phase diagram in heavy ion collisions it is important to develop a thorough theoretical understanding of the dynamics of phase transitions. Within the framework of non-equilibrium quantum field theory we derive the relaxational dynamics of the order parameter of the chiral field, including damping and fluctuations. We couple the field to a background fluid dynamic expansion of quark matter which is treated as a heat bath. This gives a self-consistent model of chiral fluid dynamics. By varying the transition strength we can investigate the non-equilibrium effects at the critical point, critical slowing down, and the first order phase transition, such as spinodal decomposition.