Quasi-normal modes from non-commutative matrix dynamics

We explore similarities between the process of relaxation in the BMN matrix model and the physics of black holes in AdS/CFT. Focusing on Dyson-fluid solutions of the matrix model, we perform numerical simulations of the real time dynamics of the system. By quenching the equilibrium distribution we study quasi-normal oscillations of scalar single trace observables, we isolate the lowest quasi-normal mode, and we determine its frequencies as function of the energy. Considering the BMN matrix model as a truncation of N = 4 SYM, we also compute the frequencies of the quasi-normal modes of the dual scalar fields in the AdS(5)-Schwarzschild background. We compare the results, and we find a surprising similarity.