Holographic drag force in non-conformal plasma

TL;DR

This paper uses gauge/string duality to study how a heavy quark experiences drag in a non-conformal plasma, revealing that non-conformality reduces drag force and affects temperature dependence.

Contribution

It provides a novel analysis of drag force in non-conformal holographic models, extending understanding beyond conformal theories like $ ext{AdS}_5$.

Findings

Drag force is smaller than in $ ext{AdS}_5$ SYM plasma.

Drag force decreases with increasing non-conformality.

World-sheet temperature deviates at intermediate temperatures and approaches conformal value at high temperatures.

Abstract

In this study, the gauge/string duality is used to investigate the dynamics of a moving heavy quark in a strongly coupled, non-conformal plasma. The drag force in this non-conformal model is smaller than that of $\mathcal{N} = 4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills (SYM) plasma and decreases as the level of non-conformality is increased. At intermediate temperatures, the world-sheet temperature, which is derived numerically by calculating the world-sheet horizon, deviates from its conformal value, but at high temperatures, it tends to its conformal value.