arXiv subjects

Sergio Barrera Cabodevila

Publications and source records attributed to Sergio Barrera Cabodevila.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Azimuthal momentum isotropization in the Quark-Gluon Plasma thermalization

Azimuthal anisotropies coming from the initial state of a heavy-ion collision have been historically disregarded in the study of thermalization because they are expected to be rapidly washed out due to final-state interactions. However, they may be important when one attempts to describe azimuthal correlations observed in the collisions of small systems. In this work, we study how these initial anisotropies relax in the context of the Boltzmann Equation in Diffusion Approximation (BEDA). We find a clear hierarchy in the relaxation time of the anisotropies in terms of each harmonic coefficient. We also explore the evolution of the $p_T$-dependent harmonic coefficients in time, finding a shift in the initial peak towards higher momenta that mimics the experimental data when we perform a phenomenologically motivated simulation.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Solving the QCD effective kinetic theory with neural networks

Event-by-event QCD kinetic theory simulations are hindered by the large numerical cost of evaluating the high-dimensional collision integral in the Boltzmann equation. In this work, we show that a neural network can be used to obtain an accurate estimate of the collision integral in a fraction of the time required for the ordinary Monte Carlo evaluation of the integral. We demonstrate that for isotropic and anisotropic distribution functions, the network accurately predicts the time evolution of the distribution function, which we verify by performing traditional evaluations of the collision integral and comparing several moments of the distribution function. This work sets the stage for an event-by-event modeling of the pre-equilibrium initial stages in heavy-ion collisions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Machine learning approach to QCD kinetic theory

The effective kinetic theory (EKT) of QCD provides a possible picture of various non-equilibrium processes in heavy- and light-ion collisions. While there have been substantial advances in simulating the EKT in simple systems with enhanced symmetry, eventually, event-by-event simulations will be required for a comprehensive phenomenological modeling. As of now, these simulations are prohibitively expensive due to the numerical complexity of the Monte Carlo evaluation of the collision kernels. In this talk, we show how the evaluation of the collision kernels can be performed using neural networks paving the way to full event-by-event simulations.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Quark production in the bottom-up thermalization

We investigate the impact of quark production on bottom-up thermalization in heavy-ion collisions. First, we extend the parametric estimates of bottom-up thermalization in pure gluon systems by incorporating quark production in the weak-coupling (high-energy) limit. Our analysis reveals that quark production does not alter the qualitative features of the three-stage thermalization process in this limit. Furthermore, we obtain the scaling behavior of the quark number density over time at each stage. Then, by solving the Boltzmann equation in diffusion approximation (BEDA) for longitudinally boost-invariant systems, we demonstrate how our detailed numerical simulations approach the predicted three-stage thermalization picture as the strong coupling $α_s$ decreases. Finally, we carry out a detailed comparison of our BEDA results with those obtained by solving the QCD effective kinetic theory for intermediate values of $α_s$, observing remarkably good quantitative agreement between the two approaches.

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arXiv2024

Quark production and thermalization of the quark-gluon plasma

We first assemble a full set of the Boltzmann Equation in Diffusion Approximation (BEDA) for studying thermalization/hydrodynamization as well as the production of massless quarks and antiquarks in out of equilibrium systems. In the BEDA, the time evolution of a generic system is characterized by the following space-time dependent quantities: the jet quenching parameter, the effective temperature, and two more for each quark flavor that describe the conversion between gluons and quarks/antiquarks via the $2\leftrightarrow2$ processes. Out of the latter two quantities, an effective net quark chemical potential is defined, which equals the net quark chemical potential after thermal equilibration. We then study thermalization and the production of three flavors of massless quarks and antiquarks in spatially homogeneous systems initially filled only with gluons. A parametric understanding of thermalization and quark production is obtained for either initially very dense or dilute systems, which are complemented by detailed numerical simulations for intermediate values of initial gluon occupancy $f_0$. For a wide range of $f_0$, the final equilibration time is determined to be about one order of magnitude longer than that in the corresponding pure gluon systems. Moreover, during the final stage of the thermalization process for $f_0\geq 10^{-4}$, gluons are found to thermalize earlier than quarks and antiquarks, undergoing the top-down thermalization.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Thermalization and quark production in spatially homogeneous systems of gluons

We first assemble a full set of the Boltzmann Equation in Diffusion Approximation (BEDA) for studying thermalization/hydrodynamization and quark production in out of equilibrium systems. We then discuss thermalization and the production of three flavors of massless quarks in spatially homogeneous systems initially filled only with gluons. A complete parametric understanding for thermalization and quark production is obtained for both initially very dense or dilute systems, which are complemented by detailed numerical simulations. For initial distributions more relevant for heavy-ion collisions, the complete thermal equilibration is found to be significantly delayed by considering quark production.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Thermalization of gluons in spatially homogeneous systems

We investigate thermalization of gluons in spatially homogeneous systems using the Boltzmann equation in diffusion approximation. A complete picture on thermalization is obtained for both initially under- and over-populated systems. In an initially under-populated system, we find that its soft sector undergoes three stages: overheating, cooling/overcooling and reheating before full thermalization is achieved. In an initially over-populated system, we find that its soft sector only undergoes two stages towards full thermalization: overheating and cooling. The cooling stage is consistently driven by momentum broadening due to multiple elastic collisions, manifest as a non-thermal scaling solution.

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