Necessary and sufficient conditions of nonlinear causality in viscous anisotropic hydrodynamics

Abstract

We derive the necessary and sufficient conditions for nonlinear causality in viscous anisotropic hydrodynamics (VAH) within the approximation that neglects small correction terms. Relativistic hydrodynamics provides a successful description of the space-time evolution of the matter produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions, yet the earliest stage at which a hydrodynamic description becomes valid remains an open question. VAH has been proposed as an extension of conventional viscous hydrodynamics (VH) that can accommodate the large pressure anisotropies of the early-time dynamics. However, in such far-from-equilibrium regimes, the nonlinear causality of the theory is not guaranteed. By analyzing the characteristic velocities of the VAH equations of motion, we derive a set of inequalities that ensures causal signal propagation in all directions. The resulting conditions take a remarkably simple form and admit a clear physical interpretation in terms of the characteristic modes of the anisotropic medium. These results establish the regime of validity of VAH and provide a foundation for its application to the early-time dynamics of relativistic heavy-ion collisions.