Jet quenching in a strongly coupled anisotropic plasma

TL;DR

This paper calculates the jet quenching parameter in a strongly coupled anisotropic plasma using gravity duals, revealing orientation-dependent effects and comparing results to real-world quark-gluon plasma.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive calculation of the anisotropic jet quenching parameter for arbitrary orientations and anisotropy levels using holography.

Findings

Anisotropic jet quenching can be larger or smaller than isotropic case.

Results depend on whether temperature or entropy density is held constant.

Comparison with real quark-gluon plasma shows mixed agreement.

Abstract

The jet quenching parameter of an anisotropic plasma depends on the relative orientation between the anisotropic direction, the direction of motion of the parton, and the direction along which the momentum broadening is measured. We calculate the jet quenching parameter of an anisotropic, strongly coupled N=4 plasma by means of its gravity dual. We present the results for arbitrary orientations and arbitrary values of the anisotropy. The anisotropic value can be larger or smaller than the isotropic one, and this depends on whether the comparison is made at equal temperatures or at equal entropy densities. We compare our results to analogous calculations for the real-world quark-gluon plasma and find agreement in some cases and disagreement in others.