English

Equilibrium Distribution of Heavy Quarks in Fokker-Planck Dynamics

High Energy Physics - Phenomenology 2009-10-31 v1

Abstract

We obtain within Fokker-Planck dynamics an explicit generalization of Einstein's relation between drag, diffusion and equilibrium distribution for a spatially homogeneous system, considering both the transverse and longitudinal diffusion for dimension n>1. We then provide a complete characterization of when the equilibrium distribution becomes a Boltzmann/J"uttner distribution, and when it satisfies the more general Tsallis distribution. We apply this analysis to recent calculations of drag and diffusion of a charm quark in a thermal plasma, and show that only a Tsallis distribution describes the equilibrium distribution well. We also provide a practical recipe applicable to highly relativistic plasmas, for determining both diffusion coefficients so that a specific equilibrium distribution will arise for a given drag coefficient.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.hep-ph/9907273,
  title  = {Equilibrium Distribution of Heavy Quarks in Fokker-Planck Dynamics},
  author = {D. Brian Walton and Johann Rafelski},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:hep-ph/9907273},
  year   = {2009}
}

Comments

4 pages including 2 figures