Hydrodynamic attractors characterize hydrodynamiclike evolution in strongly interacting systems, independent of initial conditions or microscopic details, outside the conventional hydrodynamic regime. They explain why hydrodynamic models apply to high-energy nuclear collisions, but so far have only been explored for monotonic expansion, such as Bjorken flow. We demonstrate that a system undergoing periodic expansion and contraction exhibits a novel cyclic attractor behavior. We employ Müller-Israel-Stewart theory to a driven ultracold Fermi gas to predict the shape of the attractor, which does not converge to Navier-Stokes dynamics at late times. This phenomenon can be measured in real time in ultracold quantum gases with externally modulated scattering length, offering a new avenue for the experimental discovery of hydrodynamic attractors.

Close

PrevNext

View figure in article

• Cold atoms & matter waves
• Relativistic heavy-ion collisions
• Ultracold gases
• BCS-BEC crossover
• Hydrodynamic models