Bulk viscosity-driven suppression of shear viscosity effects on the flow harmonics at energies available at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

Jun 12, 2014
17 pages
Published in:
  • Phys.Rev.C 90 (2014) 3, 034907
  • Published: Sep 11, 2014
e-Print:

Citations per year

2014201720202023202505101520
Abstract: (APS)

The interplay between shear and bulk viscosities on the flow harmonics, vn's, at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider is investigated using the newly developed relativistic 2+1 hydrodynamical code v-usphydro that includes bulk and shear viscosity effects both in the hydrodynamic evolution and at freeze-out. While shear viscosity is known to attenuate the flow harmonics, we find that the inclusion of bulk viscosity decreases the shear viscosity-induced suppression of the flow harmonics, bringing them closer to their values in ideal hydrodynamical calculations. Depending on the value of the bulk viscosity to entropy density ratio, ζ/s, in the quark-gluon plasma, the bulk viscosity-driven suppression of shear viscosity effects on the flow harmonics may require a reevaluation of the previous estimates of the shear viscosity to entropy density ratio, η/s, of the quark-gluon plasma previously extracted by comparing hydrodynamic calculations to heavy-ion data.

Note:
  • 36 pages, 12 figures, references added
  • 12.38.Mh
  • 24.10.Nz
  • 25.75.-q
  • 24.85.+p
  • effect: viscosity
  • entropy: density: ratio
  • quark gluon: plasma
  • entropy: density
  • density: ratio
  • heavy ion: scattering