Anisotropic Hydrodynamics: Motivation and Methodology

Abstract

In this proceedings contribution I review recent progress in our understanding of the bulk dynamics of relativistic systems that possess potentially large local rest frame momentum-space anisotropies. In order to deal with these momentum-space anisotropies, a reorganization of relativistic viscous hydrodynamics can been made around an anisotropic background, and the resulting dynamical framework has been dubbed "anisotropic hydrodynamics." I also discuss expectations for the degree of momentum-space anisotropy of the quark gluon plasma generated in relativistic heavy ion collisions at RHIC and LHC from second-order viscous hydrodynamics, strong-coupling approaches, and weak-coupling approaches.

Comments: 10 pages, 2 figures; Plenary contribution to the International Conference on the Initial Stages of High-Energy Nuclear Collisions 2013 (IS2013)