Fast Scramblers and Non-Commutative Gauge Theories

Abstract

Fast scramblers are quantum systems which thermalize in a time scale logarithmic in the number of degrees of freedom of the system. Non-locality has been argued to be an essential feature of fast scramblers. We provide evidence in support of the crucial role of non-locality in such systems by considering the approach to thermalization in a (strongly-coupled) high temperature non-commutative gauge theory. We show that non-locality inherent to non-commutative gauge theories does indeed accelerate the rate of dissipation in the heat bath in stark contrast to the slow random walk diffusive behavior prevalent in local field theories.

v2: 22 pages, reformatted, version to be published in JHEP