What the inflaton might tell us about RHIC/LHC

TL;DR

This paper explores the parallels between plasma instabilities in heavy-ion collisions and reheating in the early universe, highlighting universal nonthermal phenomena and their implications for understanding fundamental physics.

Contribution

It proposes a unified perspective on far-from-equilibrium dynamics in both high-energy nuclear collisions and cosmology, emphasizing universal aspects of nonthermal fixed points.

Findings

Universal features of nonthermal fixed points identified

Analogies between plasma instabilities and reheating processes established

Potential insights into thermalization mechanisms in both contexts

Abstract

Topical phenomena in high-energy physics related to collision experiments of heavy nuclei ("Little Bang") and early universe cosmology ("Big Bang") involve far-from-equilibrium dynamics described by quantum field theory. One example concerns the role of plasma instabilities for the process of thermalization in heavy-ion collisions. The reheating of the early universe after inflation may exhibit rather similar phenomena following a tachyonic or parametric resonance instability. Certain universal aspects associated to nonthermal fixed points even quantitatively agree, and considering these phenomena from a common perspective can be fruitful.