Understanding strongly coupled non-Abelian plasmas using the gauge/gravity duality

Author(s)

Stefano Ivo Finazzo

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Física (IF/SBI)
• Defense date: 2015-03-02

Examining board members

Jorge Jose Leite Noronha Junior; Nelson Ricardo de Freitas Braga; Fernando Tadeu Caldeira Brandt; Donato Giorgio Torrieri; Diego Trancanelli

• Advisor: Jorge Jose Leite Noronha Junior

Abstract

The study of strongly coupled non-Abelian gauge theories, especially concerning their thermal and non-equilibrium aspects, is a central problem for understanding Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) - in particular, to understand the evolution of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP). The most successful approach, lattice QCD, succeeds in dealing with vacuum and equilibrium phenomena, such as spectra and thermodynamics, but faces a considerable challenge when it comes to with non-equilibrium phenomena. A tool adapted to deal with real time problems in strongly coupled plasmas is the gauge/gravity, which maps a strongly coupled d dimensional Quantum Field Theory (QFT) to a d + 1 dimensional theory of gravity, which, in general, is easier to solve. In this thesis, we study several applications of the gauge/gravity duality to strongly coupled non-Abelian theories which model qualitatively the QGP. We deal with the holographic evaluation of the heavy quark-antiquark (Q Q) potential for static and moving QQ dipoles, presenting a general formalism for the computation of the real and imaginary parts for a large class of dual theories of gravity. A study of the holographic Debye mass, based on the largest screening length of CT-odd operators, is pursued, with applications on bottom-up holographic models that reproduce the thermodynamics of pure SU(Nc) Yang-Mills theory and QCD. For these models, we also compute several transport coefficients associated with charge transport in the plasma, such as the electric conductivity, the charge diffusion constant, and transport coefficients associated with a theory of second order relativistic hydrodynamics. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/21691-6 - Understanding strongly coupled non-Abelian plasmas using the gauge/gravity duality
• Grantee: Stefano Ivo Finazzo
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate