Rob Pisarski, distinguished scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory, will give a pedagogical and historical overview for the search of a new state of matter — the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) — in the collisions of heavy ions at very high energies.
We now know that neutrons and protons are produced by Quantum ChromoDynamics, or QCD. At high temperature, we expect a transition to a region where neutrons and protons are replaced by quarks and gluons. In this, numerical simulations in lattice Quantum ChromoDynamics (QCD) form the bedrock of the field and give us a firm understanding of the phase transitions which are expected.
Bjorken first noticed that a "plateau" may emerge at high energies, and produce a regime at high temperature, and low chemical potential, in the collisions of heavy ions in the "middle" of the collision.
At colliders such as RHIC, at Brookhaven, and the LHC, at CERN, Pisarski discusses two notable signals: the utility of nearly ideal hydrodynamics, and jet quenching.
The new frontier is going down to moderate collision energies, which there is net excess of baryons. Possible phenomena in this region include a critical end point and moat regimes.
Join us on Friday, Apr. 11, for this exciting presentation from Pisarski. Lunch will be available in Hayes 216 from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and the presentation will begin in Hayes 211/213 at 12:10 p.m. We hope to see you there!