Initial conditions for hydrodynamics: implications for phenomenology

TL;DR

This paper investigates how initial azimuthal asymmetries in relativistic heavy-ion collisions evolve from free-streaming to sudden equilibration, impacting subsequent hydrodynamic modeling and physical predictions.

Contribution

It introduces a model for the development of azimuthally asymmetric flow from free-streaming to equilibration in heavy-ion collisions.

Findings

Initial asymmetries influence hydrodynamic evolution.

Implications for interpreting experimental data.

Guidance for modeling early collision stages.

Abstract

It is shown how the initial azimuthally asymmetric flow develops from the free-streaming + sudden equilibration approximation to the early dynamics in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Consequences for the hydrodynamics and physical results are discussed.