1202.3696 (Mariano Chernicoff et al.)

Drag force in a strongly coupled anisotropic plasma    [PDF]

Mariano Chernicoff, Daniel Fernandez, David Mateos, Diego Trancanelli

We calculate the drag force experienced by an infinitely massive quark
propagating at constant velocity through an anisotropic, strongly coupled N=4
plasma by means of its gravity dual. We find that the gluon cloud trailing
behind the quark is generally misaligned with the quark velocity, and that the
latter is also misaligned with the force. The drag coefficient $\mu$ can be
larger or smaller than the corresponding isotropic value depending on the
velocity and the direction of motion. In the ultra-relativistic limit we find
that generically $\mu \propto p$. We discuss the conditions under which this
behaviour may extend to more general situations.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1202.3696