Turbulence in nonabelian gauge theory

TL;DR

This paper investigates turbulence in nonabelian gauge theories, demonstrating classical-statistical simulations reveal Kolmogorov scaling similar to scalar models, with quantum corrections suppressing turbulence at high energies.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed comparison of turbulence scaling in nonabelian gauge theories with scalar models and analyzes quantum effects on turbulence.

Findings

Classical-statistical simulations show Kolmogorov scaling in SU(2) gauge theory.

Analytical estimates agree with simulation results within certain regimes.

Quantum corrections suppress turbulence in the ultraviolet range.

Abstract

Kolmogorov wave turbulence plays an important role for the thermalization process following plasma instabilities in nonabelian gauge theories. We show that classical-statistical simulations in SU(2) gauge theory indicate a Kolmogorov scaling exponent known from scalar models. In the range of validity of resummed perturbation theory this result is shown to agree with analytical estimates. We study the effect of classical-statistical versus quantum corrections and demonstrate that the latter lead to the absence of turbulence in the far ultraviolet.