Holographic Quenches in a Confined Phase

Understand

We investigate quenches of holographic theories in a confined phase, where the energy injected is insufficient to reach the deconfined phase.

• In such quenches, thermalization is not associated with gravitational collapse and the formation of a black hole.
• Nevertheless, we attempt to characterize the late-time state of this scenario.
• We check a number of notions of thermalization that do not require horizon formation, and find no evidence for thermalization in our chosen parameters and initial states, even in the weakest sense.