Quasi-Normal Modes from Non-Commutative Matrix Dynamics

We explore the connection between the process of relaxation in the BMN matrix model and the physics of black holes in AdS/CFT. Focusing on Dyson-fluid solutions of the matrix model, we perform numerical simulations of the real time dynamics of the system. By quenching the equilibrium distribution we study the quasi-normal oscillations of scalar single trace observables, we isolate the lowest quasi-normal mode, and we determine its frequencies as function of the energy. Considering the BMN matrix model as a truncation of $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM, we also compute the frequencies of the quasi-normal modes of the dual scalar fields in the AdS$_5$-Schwarzschild background. We compare the results, and we find a surprising similarity.