Dynamical entropy of dense QCD states

Abstract

We discuss dense states of QCD matter formed in high-energy hadronic and heavy-ion collisions from the point of view of statistical physics of non-equilibrium processes. For this sake, we first propose a formulation of the dynamical entropy of dense QCD states in the "saturation regime" leading to a color glass condensate (CGC). The statistical physics description amounts to describe the modification of the color correlation length with energy as a compression process for which non equilibrium thermodynamic properties are applicable. We derive an expression of the dynamical entropy in terms of the rapidity evolution of the unintegrated gluon distributions in the colliding nuclei, verifying suitable positivity and irreversibility properties. We extend this approach to the initial pre-equilibrium (glasma) state of an heavy-ion collision. It allows for a definition of the initial entropy before the evolution towards the hydrodynamic regime as a function of the glasma correlation length and an overlap parameter characterizing the low-momentum spectrum of the glasma state. This initial entropy, by extension to the N=4 SYM theory, is then matched as the key input parameter to the strong coupling evaluation of thermalization towards the hydrodynamic regime based on the AdS/CFT correspondence. It thus allows to cast a bridge between the weak and strong coupling phases of an heavy-ion reaction.

Version mildly updated to match publication. Adding a discussion of the k_T factorization formula. Results and conclusions unchanged

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