Short thermalization times of less than $1\hspace{0.5em}\mathrm{fm}/c$ for quark and gluon matter have been suggested by recent experiments at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. It has been difficult to justify this rapid thermalization in first-principle calculations based on perturbation theory or the color glass condensate picture. Here, we address the related question of the decoherence of the gluon field, which is a necessary component of thermalization. We present a simplified leading-order computation of the decoherence time of a gluon ensemble subject to an incoming flux of Weizsäcker-Williams gluons. We also discuss the entropy produced during the decoherence process and its relation to the entropy in the final state that has been measured experimentally.

• Received 14 July 2008

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.79.034904