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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.02083 |
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| _version_ | 1866911355108327424 |
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| author | Prokhorov, G. Yu. |
| author_facet | Prokhorov, G. Yu. |
| contents | We demonstrate that the unitarity of quantum field theory, through the positivity of spectral functions, underlies thermodynamic irreversibility for a subsystem separated by a horizon, in direct analogy with the irreversibility of renormalization-group flows. To this end, we explicitly find the shear and bulk viscosities -- the entanglement viscosities -- for thermal radiation in Rindler space using the universal spectral representation. A direct consequence of the obtained general formulas is the relationship between the acceleration-induced shear viscosity in flat space and the conformal quantum anomaly in curved space, pointing to a possible novel probe of the conformal anomaly in systems with extreme acceleration. Moreover, for conformal field theories, we explicitly show that globally entanglement viscosity saturates the Kovtun-Son-Starinets bound. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_02083 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Entanglement Viscosity: from Unitarity to Irreversibility in Accelerated Frames Prokhorov, G. Yu. High Energy Physics - Theory High Energy Physics - Phenomenology Nuclear Theory We demonstrate that the unitarity of quantum field theory, through the positivity of spectral functions, underlies thermodynamic irreversibility for a subsystem separated by a horizon, in direct analogy with the irreversibility of renormalization-group flows. To this end, we explicitly find the shear and bulk viscosities -- the entanglement viscosities -- for thermal radiation in Rindler space using the universal spectral representation. A direct consequence of the obtained general formulas is the relationship between the acceleration-induced shear viscosity in flat space and the conformal quantum anomaly in curved space, pointing to a possible novel probe of the conformal anomaly in systems with extreme acceleration. Moreover, for conformal field theories, we explicitly show that globally entanglement viscosity saturates the Kovtun-Son-Starinets bound. |
| title | Entanglement Viscosity: from Unitarity to Irreversibility in Accelerated Frames |
| topic | High Energy Physics - Theory High Energy Physics - Phenomenology Nuclear Theory |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.02083 |