Thermalization at intermediate coupling

TL;DR

This paper investigates how finite coupling corrections affect the thermalization process of N=4 Super Yang-Mills plasma using holography, revealing a shift in thermalization pattern from top-down to bottom-up as coupling decreases.

Contribution

It introduces O('^3) corrections to holographic models, providing new insights into the thermalization pattern at intermediate coupling levels.

Findings

Photon spectral density approaches thermal limit differently at finite coupling.

Thermalization pattern shifts from top-down to bottom-up with decreasing coupling.

Finite coupling effects qualitatively change thermalization dynamics.

Abstract

We use the AdS/CFT conjecture to investigate the thermalization of large-N_c N=4 Super Yang-Mills plasma in the limit of large but finite 't Hooft coupling. On the gravity side, we supplement the type IIB supergravity action by the full set of O(\alpha'^3) operators, which enables us to derive O(\lambda^{-3/2}) corrections to the emission spectrum of prompt photons in one model of holographic thermalization. Decreasing the coupling strength from the \lambda=\infty limit, we observe a qualitative change in the way the photon spectral density approaches its thermal limit as a function of the photon energy. We interpret this behavior as a sign of the thermalization pattern of the plasma shifting from top/down towards bottom/up.