{
  "abstract": "We study equilibration and hydrodynamic response in conformal systems undergoing periodic expansion and contraction along one spatial direction. Using strongly coupled holography (AdS/CFT), weakly coupled kinetic theories (relaxation-time approximation, scalar $ϕ^4$ theory and the Yang--Mills sector of QCD effective kinetic theory) and hydrodynamics (Navier--Stokes, Müller--Israel--Stewart (MIS) and rBRSSS), we investigate the shear response to a periodic drive of varying amplitude $A$ and frequency $ω$, both analytically in linear response and numerically. We find that, at the linear level, $A\\ll 1$, periodically driven systems approach a cyclic attractor that in general differs from Navier--Stokes behaviour. This attractor is universal among kinetic theories and accurately described by MIS theory: for slow driving, $ωτ_π\\ll 1$, where $τ_π$ is the shear relaxation time, it approaches the Navier--Stokes limit, whereas for fast driving the shear stress saturates at its non-interacting (free-streaming) value. In strongly coupled holographic systems, the periodic drive excites non-hydrodynamic quasinormal modes, which produce a characteristic ringing in the approach to the cyclic attractor, in contrast to the purely exponential approach found in kinetic theories. This difference is a direct consequence of the distinct non-hydrodynamic spectra of the two classes of theories. Moreover, unlike in kinetic theory, the holographic response is sensitive to the curvature terms of second-order hydrodynamics. Over longer times, non-linear viscous heating, which is quadratic in the drive amplitude, raises the temperature and thereby lowers $ωτ_π$, since $τ_π\\sim 1/T$. This induces a slow drift of the cyclic attractor, which eventually converges towards Navier--Stokes hydrodynamics at asymptotically late times.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.40877",
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Aleksas Mazeliauskas"
    },
    {
      "name": "Toshali Mitra"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sören Schlichting"
    },
    {
      "name": "Simon Schneider"
    },
    {
      "name": "Louis Nwakile Onwuka"
    },
    {
      "name": "Martin Vrdoljak"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5es0xvs9tt6fq.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.40877",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "5es0xvs9tt6fq",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.40877",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "hep-ph"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "hep-th"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "nucl-th"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.40877",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-29",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5es0xvs9tt6fq.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-02T12:21:15Z",
      "native_id": "2610.40877",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.40877"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:hep-ph",
      "subfield": "high-energy"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:nucl-th",
      "subfield": "nuclear"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A systematic study of hydrodynamic attractors in periodically driven systems at weak and strong couplings",
  "title_text": "A systematic study of hydrodynamic attractors in periodically driven systems at weak and strong couplings",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-04T15:20:51Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5es0xvs9tt6fq",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}