Viscous potential flow analysis of peripheral heavy ion collisions

Abstract

The conditions for the development of a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) for the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) flow in a peripheral heavy ion collision is investigated. The projectile and target side particles are separated by an energetically motivated hypothetical surface, characterized with a phenomenological surface tension. In such a view, a classical potential flow approximation is considered and the onset of the KHI is studied. The growth rate of the instability is computed as a function of phenomenological parameters characteristic for the QGP fluid: viscosity, surface tension, and flow layer thickness.