arXiv subjects

Victor E. Ambruş

Publications and source records attributed to Victor E. Ambruş.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Firewall boundaries and mixed phases of rotating quark matter in linear sigma model

A rigidly-rotating body in unbounded space is usually considered a pathological system since it leads to faster-than-light velocities and associated breaches of causality. However, numerical results on chiral symmetry breaking in rotating plasmas of interacting fermions reveal surprisingly close correspondence in predictions between the rigorous bounded and formal unbounded approaches. To provide insight into this correlation, we consider the linear sigma model coupled to quarks, undergoing rigid rotation in unbounded Minkowski space-time. Within the mean-field approach, we adopt three consecutive levels of approximation to the ground state of the system that feature uniform (model 1), weakly inhomogeneous (model 2) and fully inhomogeneous (model 3) condensates. Models 1 and 2 that do not take into account spatial gradients of the condensate show agreement with the Tolman-Ehrenfest law. Model 3 exhibits a deviation from the Tolman-Ehrenfest prediction due to the appearance of a new energy scale set by the inhomogeneity of the ground state. Its boundary conditions are fixed by imposing regularity at the rotation axis and by demanding the global minimization of the grand potential. We dub the latter as ``firewall boundary conditions,'' translating into the requirement of vanishing condensate on the light cylinder, which follows from the fact that the system state formally diverges at the light cylinder. In all models, we present the phase diagram of the system and point out that in models 2 and 3, the system resides either in a chirally-restored phase, or in a mixed phase that possesses spatially-separated chirally-restored and chirally-broken phases. Finally, we discuss the properties of the system under inhomogeneous rotation using the relativistic version of the Rankine vortex model.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2025

Acceleration as a circular motion along an imaginary circle: Kubo-Martin-Schwinger condition for accelerating field theories in imaginary-time formalism

We discuss the imaginary-time formalism for field theories in thermal equilibrium in uniformly accelerating frames. We show that under a Wick rotation of Minkowski spacetime, the Rindler event horizon shrinks to a point in a two-dimensional subspace tangential to the acceleration direction and the imaginary time. We demonstrate that the accelerated version of the Kubo-Martin-Schwinger (KMS) condition implies an identification of all spacetime points related by integer-multiple rotations in the tangential subspace about this Euclidean Rindler event-horizon point, with the rotational quanta defined by the thermal acceleration, $α= a/T$. In the Wick-rotated Rindler hyperbolic coordinates, the KMS relations reduce to standard (anti-)periodic boundary conditions in terms of the imaginary proper time (rapidity) coordinate. Our findings pave the way to study, using first-principle lattice simulations, the Hawking-Unruh radiation in geometries with event horizons, phase transitions in accelerating Early Universe and early stages of quark-gluon plasma created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Vortical waves in a quantum fluid with vector, axial, and helical charges. I. Non-dissipative transport

Due to the spin-orbit coupling, Dirac fermions, submerged in a thermal bath with finite macroscopic vorticity, exhibit a spin polarisation along the direction parallel to the vorticity vector $\boldsymbolΩ$. Due to the symmetries of the Lagrangian for free massless Dirac particles, there are three independent and classically conserved currents corresponding to the vector, axial, and helical charges. The constitutive relations for the charge currents and the stress-energy tensor at thermal equilibrium, derived in the framework of quantum field theory at finite temperature, reveal vorticity-induced contributions that deviate from the perfect fluid form. In this paper, we consider the mode structure of the corresponding hydrodynamical theory and derive collective excitations associated with coherent fluctuations of all three charges. We show that the chirally imbalanced rotating fluid should possess non-reciprocal gapless waves that propagate with different velocities along and opposite to the vorticity vector. We also uncover a strictly unidirectional mode, which we call the Axial Vortical Wave, propagating in the background of the axial charge density. The emergence of this wave can be traced back to earlier studies of vortical chiral fluids in a hydrodynamic approach. We also point out an unexpected instability in the limit of degenerate matter and discuss possible solutions when helicity and axial charge non-conservation are taken into account.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Vortical waves in a quantum fluid with vector, axial and helical charges. II. Dissipative effects

In this paper, we consider the effect of interactions on the local, average polarization of a quantum plasma of massless fermion particles characterized by vector, axial, and helical quantum numbers. Due to the helical and axial vortical effects, perturbations in the vector charge in a rotating plasma can lead to chiral and helical charge transfer along the direction of the vorticity vector. At the same time, interactions between the plasma constituents lead to the dissipation of the helical charge through helicity-violating pair annihilation (HVPA) processes and of the axial charge through the axial anomaly. We will discuss separately a QED-like plasma, in which we ignore background electromagnetic fields and thus the axial charge is approximately conserved, as well as a QCD-like plasma, where instanton effects lead to the violation of the axial charge conservation, even in the absence of background chromomagnetic fields. The non-conservation of helicity and chirality leads to a gapping of the Helical, Axial, and mixed Axial-Helical vortical waves that prevents their infrared modes from propagating. On the other hand, usual dissipative effects, such as charge diffusion, lead to significant damping of ultraviolet modes. We end this paper with a discussion of the regimes where these vortical waves may propagate.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Shakhov-type extension of the relaxation time approximation in relativistic kinetic theory and second-order fluid dynamics

We present a relativistic Shakhov-type generalization of the Anderson-Witting relaxation time model for the Boltzmann collision integral to modify the ratio of momentum diffusivity to thermal diffusivity. This is achieved by modifying the path on which the single particle distribution function $f_{\mathbf{k}}$ approaches local equilibrium $f_{0\mathbf{k}}$ by constructing an intermediate Shakhov-type distribution $f_{\mathrm{S}\mathbf{k}}$ similar to the 14-moment approximation of Israel and Stewart. We illustrate the effectiveness of this model in case of the Bjorken expansion of an ideal gas of massive particles and the damping of longitudinal waves through an ultrarelativistic ideal gas.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2024

High-order Shakhov-like extension of the relaxation time approximation in relativistic kinetic theory

In this paper we present a relativistic Shakhov-type generalization of the Anderson-Witting relaxation time model for the Boltzmann collision integral. The extension is performed by modifying the path on which the distribution function $f_{\mathbf{k}}$ is taken towards local equilibrium $f_{0\mathbf{k}}$, by replacing $f_{\mathbf{k}} - f_{0\mathbf{k}}$ via $f_{\mathbf{k}} - f_{{\rm S}\mathbf{k}}$. The Shakhov-like distribution $f_{{\rm S} \mathbf{k}}$ is constructed using $f_{0\mathbf{k}}$ and the irreducible moments $ρ_r^{μ_1 \cdots μ_\ell}$ of $f_\mathbf{k}$ and reduces to $f_{0\mathbf{k}}$ in local equilibrium. Employing the method of moments, we derive systematic high-order Shakhov extensions that allow both the first- and the second-order transport coefficients to be controlled independently of each other. We illustrate the capabilities of the formalism by tweaking the shear-bulk coupling coefficient $λ_{Ππ}$ in the frame of the Bjorken flow of massive particles, as well as the diffusion-shear transport coefficients $\ell_{Vπ}$, $\ell_{πV}$ in the frame of sound wave propagation in an ultrarelativistic gas. Finally, we illustrate the importance of second-order transport coefficients by comparison with the results of the stochastic BAMPS method in the context of the one-dimensional Riemann problem.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2024

Establishing the Range of Applicability of Hydrodynamics in High-Energy Collisions

We simulate the space-time dynamics of high-energy collisions based on a microscopic kinetic description, in order to determine the range of applicability of an effective description in relativistic viscous hydrodynamics. We find that hydrodynamics provides a quantitatively accurate description of collective flow when the average inverse Reynolds number is sufficiently small and the early pre-equilibrium stage is properly accounted for. By determining the breakdown of hydrodynamics as a function of system size and energy, we find that it is quantitatively accurate in central lead-lead collisions at LHC energies, but should not be used in typical proton-lead or proton-proton collisions, where the development of collective flow cannot accurately be described within hydrodynamics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Rigidly-rotating scalar fields: between real divergence and imaginary fractalization

The thermodynamics of rigidly rotating systems experience divergences when the system dimensions transverse to the rotation axis exceed the critical size imposed by the causality constraint. The rotation with imaginary angular frequency, suitable for numerical lattice simulations in Euclidean imaginary-time formalism, experiences fractalization of thermodynamics in the thermodynamic limit, when the system's pressure becomes a fractal function of the rotation frequency. Our work connects two phenomena by studying how thermodynamics fractalizes as the system size grows. We examine an analytically-accessible system of rotating massless scalar matter on a one-dimensional ring and the numerically treatable case of rotation in the cylindrical geometry and show how the ninionic deformation of statistics emerges in these systems. We discuss a no-go theorem on analytical continuation between real- and imaginary-rotating theories. Finally, we compute the moment of inertia and shape deformation coefficients caused by the rotation of the relativistic bosonic gas.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

Helical Separation Effect and helical heat transport for Dirac fermions

An ensemble of massless fermions can be characterized by its total helicity charge given by the sum of axial charges of particles minus the sum of axial charges of antiparticles. We show that charged massless fermions develop a dissipationless flow of helicity along the background magnetic field. We dub this transport phenomenon as the Helical Separation Effect (HSE). Contrary to its chiral cousin, the Chiral Separation Effect, the HSE produces the helical current in a neutral plasma in which all chemical potentials vanish. In addition, we uncover the Helical Magnetic Heat Effect which generates a heat flux of Dirac fermions along the magnetic field in the presence of non-vanishing helical charge density. We also discuss possible hydrodynamic modes associated with the HSE in neutral plasma.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

System size dependence of pre-equilibrium and applicability of hydrodynamics in heavy-ion collisions

We simulate the space-time dynamics of high-energy collisions based on a microscopic kinetic description, in order to determine the range of applicability of an effective description in relativistic viscous hydrodynamics. We find that hydrodynamics provides a quantitatively accurate description of collective flow when the average inverse Reynolds number $\mathrm{Re}^{-1}$ is sufficiently small and the early pre-equilibrium stage is properly accounted for. By determining the breakdown of hydrodynamics as a function of system size and energy, we find that it is quantitatively accurate in central lead-lead collisions at LHC energies, but should not be used in typical proton-lead or proton-proton collisions, where the development of collective flow can not accurately be described within hydrodynamics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Attractors for Flow Observables in 2+1D Bjorken Flow

We examine the capabilities of second-order Israel-Stewart-type hydrodynamics to capture the early-time behaviour of the quark-gluon plasma created in heavy-ion collisions. We point out that at very early times, the dynamics of the fireball is governed by the local 0+1-D Bjorken flow attractor due to the rapid expansion along the longitudinal direction. Discrepancies between hydrodynamics and kinetic theory in this far-from-equilibrium regime leads to disagreement at the level of late-time observables, such as elliptic flow. We show that rescaling the initial energy-density profile for hydrodynamics accounts for such discrepancies, restoring agreement with kinetic theory for large opacities (small shear viscosity / large system size / high energy).

nucl-th↗

arXiv2022

Inverse-Reynolds-Dominance approach to transient fluid dynamics

We consider the evolution equations for the bulk viscous pressure, diffusion current and shear tensor derived within second-order relativistic dissipative hydrodynamics from kinetic theory. By matching the higher order moments directly to the dissipative quantities, all terms which are of second order in the Knudsen number Kn vanish, leaving only terms of order $\mathcal{O}(\textrm{Re}^{-1} \textrm{Kn})$ and $\mathcal{O}(\textrm{Re}^{-2})$ in the relaxation equations, where $\textrm{Re}^{-1}$ is the inverse Reynolds number. We therefore refer to this scheme as the Inverse-Reynolds-Dominance (IReD) approach. The remaining (non-vanishing) transport coefficients can be obtained exclusively in terms of the inverse of the collision matrix. This procedure fixes unambiguously the relaxation times of the dissipative quantities, which are no longer related to the eigenvalues of the inverse of the collision matrix. In particular, we find that the relaxation times corresponding to higher-order moments grow as their order increases, thereby contradicting the \textit{separation of scales} paradigm. The formal (up to second order) equivalence with the standard DNMR approach is proven and the connection between the IReD transport coefficients and the usual DNMR ones is established.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2020

Axisymmetric flows on the torus geometry

We present a series of analytically solvable axisymmetric flows on the torus geometry. For the single-component flows, we describe the propagation of sound waves for perfect fluids, as well as the viscous damping of shear and longitudinal waves for isothermal and thermal fluids. Unlike the case of planar geometry, the non-uniform curvature on a torus necessitates a distinct spectrum of eigenfrequencies and their corresponding basis functions. This has several interesting consequences, including breaking the degeneracy between even and odd modes, a lack of periodicity even in the flows of perfect fluids and the loss of Galilean invariance for flows with velocity components in the poloidal direction. For the multi-component flows, we study the equilibrium configurations and relaxation dynamics of axisymmetric fluid stripes, described using the Cahn-Hilliard equation. We find a second-order phase transition in the equilibrium location of the stripe as a function of its area $ΔA$. This phase transition leads to a complex dependence of the Laplace pressure on $ΔA$. We also derive the underdamped oscillatory dynamics as the stripes approach equilibrium. Furthermore, relaxing the assumption of axial symmetry, we derive the conditions under which the stripes become unstable. In all cases, the analytical results are confirmed numerically using a finite-difference Navier-Stokes solver.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2019

Rigidly-rotating quantum thermal states in bounded systems

We consider rigidly-rotating thermal states of a massless Klein-Gordon field enclosed within a cylindrical boundary, where Robin boundary conditions (RBCs) are imposed. The connection between the parameter of the RBCs and the energy density and four-velocity expressed in the Landau frame is revealed.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Multicomponent Flow on Curved Surfaces: A Vielbein Lattice Boltzmann Approach

We develop and implement a novel lattice Boltzmann scheme to study multicomponent flows on curved surfaces, coupling the continuity and Navier-Stokes equations with the Cahn-Hilliard equation to track the evolution of the binary fluid interfaces. Standard lattice Boltzmann method relies on regular Cartesian grids, which makes it generally unsuitable to study flow problems on curved surfaces. To alleviate this limitation, we use a vielbein formalism to write down the Boltzmann equation on an arbitrary geometry, and solve the evolution of the fluid distribution functions using a finite difference method. Focussing on the torus geometry as an example of a curved surface, we demonstrate drift motions of fluid droplets and stripes embedded on the surface of a torus. Interestingly, they migrate in opposite directions: fluid droplets to the outer side while fluid stripes to the inner side of the torus. For the latter we demonstrate that the global minimum configuration is unique for small stripe widths, but it becomes bistable for large stripe widths. Our simulations are also in agreement with analytical predictions for the Laplace pressure of the fluid stripes, and their damped oscillatory motion as they approach equilibrium configurations, capturing the corresponding decay timescale and oscillation frequency. Finally, we simulate the coarsening dynamics of phase separating binary fluids in the hydrodynamics and diffusive regimes for tori of various shapes, and compare the results against those for a flat two-dimensional surface. Our lattice Boltzmann scheme can be extended to other surfaces and coupled to other dynamical equations, opening up a vast range of applications involving complex flows on curved geometries.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2018

Corner transport upwind lattice Boltzmann model for bubble cavitation

Aiming to study the bubble cavitation problem in quiescent and sheared liquids, a third-order isothermal lattice Boltzmann (LB) model that describes a two-dimensional ($2D$) fluid obeying the van der Waals equation of state, is introduced. The evolution equations for the distribution functions in this off-lattice model with 16 velocities are solved using the corner transport upwind (CTU) numerical scheme on large square lattices (up to $6144 \times 6144$ nodes). The numerical viscosity and the regularization of the model are discussed for first and second order CTU schemes finding that the latter choice allows to obtain a very accurate phase diagram of a nonideal fluid. In a quiescent liquid, the present model allows to recover the solution of the $2D$ Rayleigh-Plesset equation for a growing vapor bubble. In a sheared liquid, we investigated the evolution of the total bubble area, the bubble deformation and the bubble tilt angle, for various values of the shear rate. A linear relation between the dimensionless deformation coefficient $D$ and the capillary number $Ca$ is found at small $Ca$ but with a different factor than in equilibrium liquids. A non-linear regime is observed for $Ca \gtrsim 0.2$.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2014

Rotating quantum states

We revisit the definition of rotating thermal states for scalar and fermion fields in unbounded Minkowski space-time. For scalar fields such states are ill-defined everywhere, but for fermion fields an appropriate definition of the vacuum gives thermal states regular inside the speed-of-light surface. For a massless fermion field, we derive analytic expressions for the thermal expectation values of the fermion current and stress-energy tensor. These expressions may provide qualitative insights into the behaviour of thermal rotating states on more complex space-time geometries.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Fermions on adS

We construct the Feynman propagator for Dirac fermions on anti-de Sitter space-time and present an analytic expression for the bi-spinor of parallel transport. We then renormalise the vacuum expectation value of the stress-energy tensor and end by analysing its renormalised expectation value at finite temperatures.

gr-qc↗