English

Minimum Shear Viscosity over Entropy Density at Phase Transition? --- A Counterexample

High Energy Physics - Phenomenology 2011-06-28 v2 High Energy Physics - Lattice Nuclear Experiment Nuclear Theory

Abstract

The ratio eta/s, shear viscosity (eta) to entropy density (s), reaches its local minimum at the (second order) phase transition temperature in a wide class of systems. It was suspected that this behavior might be universal. However, a counterexample is found in a system of two weakly self-interacting real scalar fields with one of them condensing at low temperatures while the other remains in the symmetric phase. There is no interaction between the two fields. The resulting eta/s is monotonically decreasing in temperature despite the phase transition.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1010.3119,
  title  = {Minimum Shear Viscosity over Entropy Density at Phase Transition? --- A Counterexample},
  author = {Jiunn-Wei Chen and Chang-Tse Hsieh and Han-Hsin Lin},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1010.3119},
  year   = {2011}
}

Comments

10 pages, 4 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-21T16:28:55.556Z