Scaling behavior of anisotropic flow harmonics in the far from equilibrium regime

Abstract

We consider the development of anisotropic flow in an expanding system of particles undergoing very few rescatterings, using a kinetic-theoretical description with a nonlinear collision term. We derive the scaling behaviors of the harmonic coefficients $v_n$ with the initial-state eccentricities and the mean number of rescatterings, and argue that hexagonal flow $v_6$ should follow a nontrivial behavior, different from that of the lower harmonics. Our findings should be observable in experimental data for small systems.