Transverse Flow of Gluon Fields in Heavy Ion Collision

We describe the dynamics of initial gluon fields in heavy ion collision using a formal recursive solution of the Yang Mills equations and solving for the energy momentum tensor analytically in a boost-invariant setup. We generalize the original McLerran-Venugopalan (MV) model in order to allow for realistic nuclear profiles. This leads to a transverse flow of gluon fields. This flow pattern is inherited by the quark gluon plasma fluid after thermalization. Its most interesting aspect is a rapidity-odd flow component. We show that this rapidity-odd flow does not break boost invariance and that it emerges naturally from the Yang Mills equations. It leads to directed flow of particles and introduces angular momentum to the system.