Viscous potential flow analysis of peripheral heavy ion collisions

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 function of phenomenological parameters characteristic for the QGP fluid: viscosity, surface tension and flow layer thickness.