Published April 2009 | Version v1
Journal article

Bulk viscosity of a gas of massless pions

  • 1. CTP, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)
  • 2. Department of Physics and Center for Theoretical Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan (China)

Description

In the hadronic phase, the dominant configuration of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) with two flavors of massless quarks is a gas of massless pions. We calculate the bulk viscosity (ζ) using the Boltzmann equation with the kinetic theory generalized to incorporate the trace anomaly. We find that the dimensionless ratio ζ/s, s being the entropy density, is monotonic increasing below T=120 MeV, where chiral perturbation theory is applicable. This, combined with previous results, shows that ζ/s reaches its maximum near the phase-transition temperature Tc, while η/s, η being the shear viscosity, reaches its minimum near Tc in QCD with massless quarks.

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics
Journal Volume
79
Journal Issue
4
Journal Page Range
p. 044913-044913.6
ISSN
0556-2813
CODEN
PRVCAN

Optional Information

Notes
(c) 2009 The American Physical Society