Relativistic Langevin Dynamics in Expanding Media

TL;DR

This paper investigates how to properly implement relativistic Langevin dynamics in expanding media, ensuring Lorentz invariance and accurate stationary distributions, with implications for studying heavy-ion collision environments.

Contribution

It clarifies the implementation of relativistic Langevin equations using microscopically derived transport coefficients, resolving the Ito-Stratonovich dilemma in expanding media.

Findings

Proper implementation leads to unambiguous stationary distributions.

Lorentz invariance is maintained in expanding media.

Heavy-flavor diffusion can diagnose QCD matter properties.

Abstract

We study the consequences of different realizations of diffusion processes in relativistic Langevin simulations. We elaborate on the Ito-Stratonovich dilemma by showing how microscopically calculated transport coefficients as obtained from a Boltzmann/Fokker-Planck equation can be implemented to lead to an unambiguous realization of the Langevin process. Pertinent examples within the pre-point (Ito) and post-point (H\"anggi-Klimontovich) Langevin prescriptions are worked out explicitly. Deviations from this implementation are shown to generate variants of the Boltzmann distribution as the stationary (equilibrium) solutions. Finally, we explicitly verify how the Lorentz invariance of the Langevin process is maintained in the presence of an expanding medium, including the case of an "elliptic flow" transmitted to a Brownian test particle. This is particularly relevant for using heavy-flavor diffusion as a quantitative tool to diagnose transport properties of QCD matter as created in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions.