Equation of State and Viscosities from a Gravity Dual of the Gluon Plasma

Employing new precision data of the equation of state of the SU(3) Yang-Mills theory (gluon plasma) the dilaton potential of a gravity-dual model is adjusted in the temperature range $(1 - 10) T_c$ within a bottom-up approach. The ratio of bulk viscosity to shear viscosity follows then as $\zeta/\eta \approx \pi \Delta v_s^2$ for $\Delta v_s^2 < 0.2$ and achieves a maximum value of $0.94$ at $\Delta v_s^2 \approx 0.3$, where $\Delta v_s^2 \equiv 1/3 - v_s^2$ is the non-conformality measure and $v_s^2$ is the velocity of sound squared, while the ratio of shear viscosity to entropy density is known as $(4 \pi)^{-1}$ for the considered set-up with Hilbert action on the gravity side.Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures. Version published in PL

Cross-over versus first-order phase transition in holographic gravity-single-dilaton models of QCD thermodynamics

A dilaton potential is adjusted to recently confirmed lattice QCD thermodynamics data in the temperature range $(0.7 \ldots 3.5) T_c$ where $T_c = 155 \text{MeV}$ is the pseudo-critical temperature. The employed holographic model is based on a gravity--single-field dilaton dual. We discuss conditions for enforcing (for the pure gluon plasma) or avoiding (for the QCD quark-gluon plasma) a first-order phase transition, but still keeping a softest point (minimum of sound velocity).Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure

Relativistic Expansion of Electron-Positron-Photon Plasma Droplets and Photon Emission

The expansion dynamics of hot electron-positron-photon plasma droplets is dealt with within relativistic hydrodynamics. Such droplets, envisaged to be created in future experiments by irradiating thin foils with counter-propagating ultra-intense laser beams, are sources of flashes of gamma radiation. Warm electron-positron plasma droplets may be identified and characterized by a broadened 511 keV line

Origin of Rashba-splitting in the quantized subbands at Bi2Se3 surface

We study the band structure of the $\text{Bi}_2\text{Se}_3$ topological insulator (111) surface using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We examine the situation where two sets of quantized subbands exhibiting different Rashba spin-splitting are created via bending of the conduction (CB) and the valence (VB) bands at the surface. While the CB subbands are strongly Rashba spin-split, the VB subbands do not exhibit clear spin-splitting. We find that CB and VB experience similar band bending magnitudes, which means, a spin-splitting discrepancy due to different surface potential gradients can be excluded. On the other hand, by comparing the experimental band structure to first principles LMTO band structure calculations, we find that the strongly spin-orbit coupled Bi 6$p$ orbitals dominate the orbital character of CB, whereas their admixture to VB is rather small. The spin-splitting discrepancy is, therefore, traced back to the difference in spin-orbit coupling between CB and VB in the respective subbands' regions

Pseudogap and charge density waves in two dimensions

An interaction between electrons and lattice vibrations (phonons) results in two fundamental quantum phenomena in solids: in three dimensions it can turn a metal into a superconductor whereas in one dimension it can turn a metal into an insulator. In two dimensions (2D) both superconductivity and charge-density waves (CDW) are believed to be anomalous. In superconducting cuprates, critical transition temperatures are unusually high and the energy gap may stay unclosed even above these temperatures (pseudogap). In CDW-bearing dichalcogenides the resistivity below the transition can decrease with temperature even faster than in the normal phase and a basic prerequisite for the CDW, the favourable nesting conditions (when some sections of the Fermi surface appear shifted by the same vector), seems to be absent. Notwithstanding the existence of alternatives to conventional theories, both phenomena in 2D still remain the most fascinating puzzles in condensed matter physics. Using the latest developments in high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) here we show that the normal-state pseudogap also exists in one of the most studied 2D examples, dichalcogenide 2H-TaSe2, and the formation of CDW is driven by a conventional nesting instability, which is masked by the pseudogap. Our findings reconcile and explain a number of unusual, as previously believed, experimental responses as well as disprove many alternative theoretical approaches. The magnitude, character and anisotropy of the 2D-CDW pseudogap are intriguingly similar to those seen in superconducting cuprates.Comment: 14 pages including figures and supplementary informatio

Arguing on Entropic and Enthalpic First-Order Phase Transitions in Strongly Interacting Matter

Abstract The pattern of isentropes in the vicinity of a first-order phase transition is proposed as a key for a sub-classification. While the confinement-deconfinement transition, conjectured to set in beyond a critical end point in the QCD phase diagram, is often related to an entropic transition and the apparently settled gas-liquid transition in nuclear matter is an enthalphic transition, the conceivable local isentropes w.r.t. &quot;incoming&quot; or &quot;outgoing&quot; serve as another useful guide for discussing possible implications, both in the presumed hydrodynamical expansion stage of heavy-ion collisions and the core-collapse of supernova explosions. Examples, such as the quark-meson model and two-phase models, are shown to distinguish concisely the different transitions