  Topical phenomena in high-energy physics related to collision experiments of
heavy nuclei ("Little Bang") and early universe cosmology ("Big Bang") involve
far-from-equilibrium dynamics described by quantum field theory. One example
concerns the role of plasma instabilities for the process of thermalization in
heavy-ion collisions. The reheating of the early universe after inflation may
exhibit rather similar phenomena following a tachyonic or parametric resonance
instability. Certain universal aspects associated to nonthermal fixed points
even quantitatively agree, and considering these phenomena from a common
perspective can be fruitful.
