A fluid-dynamic approach to heavy-quark diffusion in the quark-gluon plasma

Abstract

A fluid-dynamic approach to the diffusion of heavy quarks in the quark--gluon plasma (QGP) is presented. Specifically, we analyze the Fokker-Planck equation for the momentum transport of heavy quarks from a fluid perspective and use a mapping to second-order fluid-dynamics to determine conductivities and relaxation times governing their spatial diffusion. By investigating the relation between the two approaches, we provide new insights concerning the level of local thermalization of charm and bottom quarks inside the expanding QGP. Our results indicate that a fluid-dynamic description of diffusion is feasible for charm quarks at least for the latest stages of the fireball evolution.