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Viscosity, Black Holes, and Quantum Field Theory

2007/04/30 by D. T. Son, A. O. Starinets · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #hep-th

paper · pdf · doi:10.1146/annurev.nucl.57.090506.123120

published as Ann.Rev.Nucl.Part.Sci.57:95-118,2007 · 23 pages, a review. New proof of the universality of the viscosity entropy ratio, new derivation of Kubo's formula; references added and minor typos corrected in version 2

arxiv created 2007/07/11 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01

Abstract

We review recent progress in applying the AdS/CFT correspondence to finite-temperature field theory. In particular, we show how the hydrodynamic behavior of field theory is reflected in the low-momentum limit of correlation functions computed through a real-time AdS/CFT prescription, which we formulate. We also show how the hydrodynamic modes in field theory correspond to the low-lying quasinormal modes of the AdS black p-brane metric. We provide a proof of the universality of the viscosity/entropy ratio within a class of theories with gravity duals and formulate a viscosity bound conjecture. Possible implications for real systems are mentioned.

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