Relativistic heavy-ion collisions at Brookhaven and CERN have produced dense matter in the laboratory. Analysis of particle spectra, yields and azimuthal anisotropies (elliptic flow) can be roughly explained if it is assumed that this matter thermalises very fast. The observed suppression of fast particles also seems to indicate the presence of strong dissipative processes in this matter.
A parallel development has taken place in the theoretical understanding of dissipative processes away from equilibrium in the context of relativistic heavy-ion collisions. In recent years there has been rapid development in the perturbative treatment of such theories which has greatly expanded our understanding of near-equilibrium relativistic matter. Over the years there have been several attempts at extracting these near-equilibrium properties through non-perturbative lattice computations. These techniques are also beginning to mature now.
These questions have ramifications beyond present day laboratory experiments. They are also relevant to the physics of the early universe and other extreme astrophysical objects.
The purpose of this meeting is to bring together experts in finite temperature field theory, on and off-lattice, to review and discuss different aspects of this field.
The workshop will be held in the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai during the week of 15-19 December, 2003.
Confirmed attendees are Gert Aarts (Ohio), Jan-e-Alam (VECC Kolkata), Rajeev Bhalerao (TIFR Mumbai), Jean-Paul Blaizot (CEA Saclay), Dietrich Bodeker (Bielefeld), Purnendu Chakraborti (SINP Kolkata), Abhijit Ganguly (IMSc Chennai), Rajiv Gavai (TIFR Mumbai), Sourendu Gupta (TIFR Mumbai), N.D. Hari Dass (IMSc Chennai), Atsushi Nakamura (Hiroshima), Satchi Naik (HRI Allahabad), Munshi Mustafa (SINP Kolkata), S. C. Phatak (IOP Bhubaneswar), V. Ravishankar (IIT Kanpur), I. O. Stamatescu (Heidelberg), Deshdeep Sahdev (IIT Kanpur), Vikram Soni (NPL Delhi), Ajit Srivastava (IOP Bhubaneswar), Dinesh Srivastava (VECC Kolkata).
There will be review talks in the mornings. The remainder of the day will be devoted to discussions.
Email: neft[at]theory.tifr.res.in
Fax: +91-22-2280-4610 and +91-22-2280-4611