Classical Strongly Coupled QGP: VII. Energy Loss

We use linear response analysis and the fluctuation-dissipation theorem to derive the energy loss of a heavy quark in the SU(2) classical Coulomb plasma in terms of the $l=1$ monopole and non-static structure factor. The result is valid for all Coulomb couplings $\Gamma=V/K$, the ratio of the mean potential to kinetic energy. We use the Liouville equation in the collisionless limit to assess the SU(2) non-static structure factor. We find the energy loss to be strongly dependent on $\Gamma$. In the liquid phase with $\Gamma\approx 4$, the energy loss is mostly metallic and soundless with neither a Cerenkov nor a Mach cone. Our analytical results compare favorably with the SU(2) molecular dynamics simulations at large momentum and for heavy quark masses.Comment: 18 pages, 15 figures. v2: added references, changed title, replaced figures for Fig. 7, corrected typo

Stable transport in proton driven Fast Ignition

Proton beam transport in the context of proton driven Fast Ignition is usually assumed to be stable due to protons high inertia, but an analytical analysis of the process is still lacking. The stability of a charge and current neutralized proton beam passing through a plasma is therefore conducted here, for typical proton driven Fast Ignition parameters. In the cold regime, two fast growing Buneman-like modes are found, with an inverse growth-rate much smaller than the beam time-of-flight to the target core. The stability issue is thus not so obvious, and Kinetic effects are investigated. One unstable mode is found stabilized by the background plasma protons and electrons temperatures. The second mode is also damped, providing the proton beam thermal spread is larger than $\sim$ 10 keV. In Fusion conditions, the beam propagation should therefore be stable.Comment: Submitted to Po

Classical Strongly Coupled QGP: VII. Shear Viscosity and Self Diffusion

We construct the Liouville operator for the SU(2) classical colored Coulomb plasma (cQGP) for arbitrary values of the Coulomb coupling $\Gamma=V/K$, the ratio of the mean Coulomb to kinetic energy. We show that its resolvent in the classical colored phase space obeys a hierarchy of equations. We use a free streaming approximation to close the hierarchy and derive an integral equation for the time-dependent structure factor. Its reduction by projection yields hydrodynamical equations in the long-wavelength limit. We discuss the character of the hydrodynamical modes at strong coupling. The shear viscosity is shown to exhibit a minimum at $\Gamma\approx 8$ near the liquid point. This minimum follows from the cross-over between the single particle collisional regime which drops as $1/\Gamma^{5/2}$ and the hydrodynamical collisional regime which rises as $\Gamma^{1/2}$. The self-diffusion constant drops as $1/\Gamma^{3/2}$ irrespective of the regime. We compare our results to molecular dynamics simulations of the SU(2) colored Coulomb plasma. We also discuss the relevance of our results for the quantum and strongly coupled quark gluon plasma (sQGP)Comment: 36 pages, 14 figure

The influence of local field corrections on Thomson scattering in non-ideal two-component plasmas

Thomson scattering in non-ideal (collision-dominated) two-component plasmas is calculated accounting for electron-ion collisions as well as electron-electron correlations. This is achieved by using a novel interpolation scheme for the electron-electron response function generalizing the traditional Mermin approach. Also, ions are treated as randomly distributed inert scattering centers. The collision frequency is taken as a dynamic and complex quantity and is calculated from a microscopic quantum-statistical approach. Implications due to different approximations for the electron-electron correlation, i.e. different forms of the OCP local field correction, are discussed

Spin-density functional approach to thermodynamic and structural consistence in the charge and spin response of an electron gas

We use spin-density functional theory to obtain novel expressions for the charge and spin local-field factors of an electron gas in terms of its electron-pair structure factors. These expressions (i) satisfy the compressibility and spin susceptibility sum rules; (ii) keep account of kinetic correlations by means of an integration over the coupling strength; and (iii) provide a practical self-consistent scheme for evaluating linear response and liquid structure. Numerical illustrations are given for the dielectric response of the paramagnetic electron gas in both three and two dimensions.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Solid State Commu

Structure Functions and Pair Correlations of the Quark-Gluon Plasma

Recent experiments at RHIC and theoretical considerations indicate that the quark-gluon plasma, present in the fireball of relativistic heavy-ion collisions, might be in a liquid phase. The liquid state can be identified by characteristic correlation and structure functions. Here definitions of the structure functions and pair correlations of the quark-gluon plasma are presented as well as perturbative results. These definitions might be useful for verifying the quark-gluon-plasma liquid in QCD lattice calculations.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure, revised version (new remark on the coupling parameter on page 2), to be published in Phys. Rev.

Strongly Coupled Quark Gluon Plasma (SCQGP)

We propose that the reason for the non-ideal behavior seen in lattice simulation of quark gluon plasma (QGP) and relativistic heavy ion collisions (URHICs) experiments is that the QGP near T_c and above is strongly coupled plasma (SCP), i.e., strongly coupled quark gluon plasma (SCQGP). It is remarkable that the widely used equation of state (EoS) of SCP in QED (quantum electrodynamics) very nicely fits lattice results on all QGP systems, with proper modifications to include color degrees of freedom and running coupling constant. Results on pressure in pure gauge, 2-flavors and 3-flavors QGP, are all can be explained by treating QGP as SCQGP as demonstated here.Energy density and speed of sound are also presented for all three systems. We further extend the model to systems with finite quark mass and a reasonably good fit to lattice results are obtained for (2+1)-flavors and 4-flavors QGP. Hence it is the first unified model, namely SCQGP, to explain the non-ideal QGP seen in lattice simulations with just two system dependent parameters.Comment: Revised with corrections and new results, Latex file (11 pages), postscript file of 7 figure

Phase Transitions in a Dusty Plasma with Two Distinct Particle Sizes

In semiconductor manufacturing, contamination due to particulates significantly decreases the yield and quality of device fabrication, therefore increasing the cost of production. Dust particle clouds can be found in almost all plasma processing environments including both plasma etching devices and in plasma deposition processes. Dust particles suspended within such plasmas will acquire an electric charge from collisions with free electrons in the plasma. If the ratio of inter-particle potential energy to the average kinetic energy is sufficient, the particles will form either a liquid structure with short range ordering or a crystalline structure with long range ordering. Otherwise, the dust particle system will remain in a gaseous state. Many experiments have been conducted over the past decade on such colloidal plasmas to discover the character of the systems formed, but more work is needed to fully understand these structures. The preponderance of previous experiments used monodisperse spheres to form complex plasma systems