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Sonic Mach cones induced by fast partons in a perturbative quark-gluon plasma

R. B. Neufeld, B. Müller, and J. Ruppert
Phys. Rev. C 78, 041901(R) – Published 13 October 2008
Physics logo See Viewpoint: Sonic booms at 1012 kelvin

Abstract

We derive the space-time distribution of energy and momentum deposited by a fast parton traversing a weakly coupled quark-gluon plasma by treating the fast parton as the source of an external color field perturbing the medium. We then use our result as a source term for the linearized hydrodynamical equations of the medium. We show that the solution contains a sonic Mach cone and a dissipative wake if the parton moves at a supersonic speed.

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  • Received 21 February 2008

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.78.041901

©2008 American Physical Society

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Sonic booms at 1012 kelvin

Published 13 October 2008

Energetic particle jets created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions might create detectable shock waves as they travel through the quark-gluon plasma.

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Authors & Affiliations

R. B. Neufeld1, B. Müller1, and J. Ruppert2,3

  • 1Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
  • 2Institut für Theoretische Physik, J. W. Goethe-Universität, D-60054 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
  • 3Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 2T8, Canada

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Issue

Vol. 78, Iss. 4 — October 2008

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