arXiv subjects

P. Kovtun

Publications and source records attributed to P. Kovtun.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2006

Energy loss of a heavy quark moving through N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills plasma

We use the AdS/CFT correspondence to determine the rate of energy loss of a heavy quark moving through N=4 SU(N_c) supersymmetric Yang-Mills plasma at large 't Hooft coupling. Using the dual description of the quark as a classical string ending on a D7-brane, we use a complementary combination of analytic and numerical techniques to determine the friction coefficient as a function of quark mass. Provided strongly coupled N=4 Yang-Mills plasma is a good model for hot, strongly coupled QCD, our results may be relevant for charm and bottom physics at RHIC.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

Viscosity in Strongly Interacting Quantum Field Theories from Black Hole Physics

The ratio of shear viscosity to volume density of entropy can be used to characterize how close a given fluid is to being perfect. Using string theory methods, we show that this ratio is equal to a universal value of $\hbar/4πk_B$ for a large class of strongly interacting quantum field theories whose dual description involves black holes in anti--de Sitter space. We provide evidence that this value may serve as a lower bound for a wide class of systems, thus suggesting that black hole horizons are dual to the most ideal fluids.

hep-th↗