Thermal photon production in Gubser inviscid relativistic fluid dynamics

The Gubser solution to inviscid relativistic fluid dynamics is used to examine the role of transverse expansion on the energy spectrum of photons radiated by quark-gluon plasma. Transverse flow is shown to be a modest effect on the energy spectrum of photons as a whole, despite its large effect on rare high-energy photons produced at low temperatures. An exact expression is derived for the volume of the plasma as a function of its temperature. A simple formula is obtained for the energy spectrum of high-energy thermal photons, which is used to relate the inverse slope $T_{\textrm{eff}}$ of the photon spectrum at energy $E$ to the maximum temperature of the plasma $T_0$, finding $T_{\textrm{eff}} \approx T_0/(1+\frac{5}{2} \frac{T_0}{E})$.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures; v2: added exact formula for Gubser volume, fixed definition of effective temperature, updated text accordingl

Applications of emulation and Bayesian methods in heavy-ion physics

Heavy-ion collisions provide a window into the properties of many-body systems of deconfined quarks and gluons. Understanding the collective properties of quarks and gluons is possible by comparing models of heavy-ion collisions to measurements of the distribution of particles produced at the end of the collisions. These model-to-data comparisons are extremely challenging, however, because of the complexity of the models, the large amount of experimental data, and their uncertainties. Bayesian inference provides a rigorous statistical framework to constrain the properties of nuclear matter by systematically comparing models and measurements. This review covers model emulation and Bayesian methods as applied to model-to-data comparisons in heavy-ion collisions. Replacing the model outputs (observables) with Gaussian process emulators is key to the Bayesian approach currently used in the field, and both current uses of emulators and related recent developments are reviewed. The general principles of Bayesian inference are then discussed along with other Bayesian methods, followed by a systematic comparison of seven recent Bayesian analyses that studied quark-gluon plasma properties, such as the shear and bulk viscosities. The latter comparison is used to illustrate sources of differences in analyses, and what it can teach us for future studies.Comment: 52 page

Initial conditions for hydrodynamics from kinetic theory equilibration

We use effective kinetic theory to study the pre-equilibrium dynamics in heavy-ion collisions. We describe the evolution of linearized energy perturbations on top of out-of-equilibrium background to the energy-momentum tensor at a time when hydrodynamics becomes applicable. We apply this description to IP-Glasma initial conditions and find an overall smooth transition to hydrodynamics. In a phenomenologically favorable range of $\eta/s$ values, early time dynamics can be accurately described in terms of a few functions of a scaled time variable $\tau T/(\eta/s)$. Our framework can be readily applied to other initial state models to provide the pre-equilibrium dynamics of the energy momentum tensor.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, Proceedings for the 26th International Conference on Ultrarelativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (Quark Matter 2017), February 5-11 2017, Chicago, Illinois, US

Le système financier bas-canadien au tournant du XIXe siècle

This paper examines the evolution of the Canadian financial system from its embryonic form in New France to its modern contours in the first half of the 19th century. It is argued that the financial sub-system as a social technology experienced a mutation at the turn of the 19th century, as the result of unintended consequence of a combination of external, internal, and policy forces