Thermalization and Lyapunov exponents in Yang-Mills-Higgs theory

We investigate thermalization processes occurring at different time scales in the Yang-Mills-Higgs system at high temperatures. We determine the largest Lyapunov exponent associated with the gauge fields and verify its relation to the perturbatively calculated damping rate of a static gauge boson. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}