Memory effects in high energy nuclear collisions

Stochastic processes with memory are characterized by noises that possess correlations at different times; namely, the stochastic terms in the differential equations at a time t have memory of the noise at previous times. Heavy ion collisions are an interesting framework in which processes with memory take place, in particular when one considers the very early, out-of-equilibrium stages. In this talk, we review pedagogically the stochastic processes with memory, focusing on a few and simple physical examples; in particular, we focus on the broadening of momentum for the motion of a heavy particle under the effect of a random force with memory. Then we turn to discuss these ideas for heavy quarks in the early stages of heavy ion collisions, in which the stochastic term is furnished by the strong (and random) gluon fields that develop in the interaction region of the two colliding objects.     Speaker: Prof. Marco Ruggieri, Lanzhou University (China)