Boltzmann-Langevin approach to pre-equilibrium correlations in nuclear collisions

Sean Gavin, George Moschelli, and Christopher Zin
Phys. Rev. C 95, 064901 – Published 12 June 2017

Abstract

Correlations born before the onset of hydrodynamic flow can leave observable traces on the final-state particles. Measurement of these correlations yield important information on the isotropization and thermalization processes. Starting from a Boltzmann-like kinetic theory in the presence of dynamic Langevin noise, we derive a new partial differential equation for the two-particle correlation function that respects the microscopic conservation laws. To illustrate how these equations can be used, we study the effect of thermalization on long-range correlations. We show quite generally that two-particle correlations at early times depend on S, the average probability that a parton suffers no interactions. We extract S from transverse momentum fluctuations measured in nucleus-nucleus collisions and predict the degree of partial thermalization in proton-nucleus experiments.

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  • Received 21 December 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.95.064901

©2017 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Nuclear Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Sean Gavin1, George Moschelli2, and Christopher Zin1

  • 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48202, USA
  • 2Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West Ten Mile Road, Southfield, Michigan 48075, USA

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Issue

Vol. 95, Iss. 6 — June 2017

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