Heavy Ion Physics and the Quark-Gluon-Plasma
Yvonne Pachmayer, Heidelberg University
Abstract:
One of the fundamental questions in physics is what happens to matter at extreme densities and temperatures, i. e. conditions similar to those that are assumed to have existed in the universe just after the Big Bang and are expected in the core of dense neutron stars. At high densities or temperatures Quantum Chromodynamics predicts a phase where quark and gluon degrees of freedom are not anymore confined inside the hadrons (Quark-Gluon Plasma). To create such a state of matter in the laboratory high-energy accelerators make head-on collisions between massive ions allowing us to study the densest and hottest forms of matter.The lectures start with an introduction to the physics of ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Next we will review selected highlights of the current experimental programs at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Emphasis will be given on what we have learned so far from the first years of data taking at the LHC, where heavy ions of lead were collided at √sNN= 2.76TeV - higher energies than ever achieved before in any laboratory. We will conclude with an outlook into the future of heavy-ion physics.
Required background:
Basic knowledge of Quantum Chromodynamics and the Standard Model of Particle Physics