Numerical Studies of QGP Instabilities and Implications

Abstract

Because the initial shape of the QGP in a heavy ion collision is anisotropic, the momentum distribution becomes anisotropic after a short time. This leads to plasma instabilities, which may help explain how the plasma isotropizes. We explain the physics of instabilities and give the latest results of numerical simulations into their evolution. Nonabelian interactions cut off the size to which the soft unstable fields grow, and energy in the soft fields subsequently cascades towards more ultraviolet scales. We present first results for the power spectrum of this cascade.