Holography and hydrodynamics: Diffusion on stretched horizons

Journal article

We show that long-time, long-distance fluctuations of plane-symmetric horizons exhibit universal hydrodynamic behavior. By considering classical fluctuations around black-brane backgrounds, we find both diffusive and shear modes. The diffusion constant and the shear viscosity are given by simple formulas, in terms of metric components. For a given metric, the answers can be interpreted as corresponding kinetic coefficients in the holographically dual theory. For the near-extremal DP, M2 and M5 branes, the computed kinetic coefficients coincide with the results of independent AdS/CFT calculations. In all the examples, the ratio of shear viscosity to entropy density is equal to ℏ/(4πkB, suggesting a special meaning of this value. © SISSA/ISAS 2003.

Authors: Kovtun, P; Son, D; Starinets, A

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Journal of High Energy Physics
• Volume: 7
• Issue: 10
• Pages: 1675-1701
• Publication date: 2003-10-01
• ISSN: 1029-8479