4 research outputs found
Exploring the QCD landscape with high-energy nuclear collisions
Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) phase diagram is usually plotted as temperature
(T) versus the chemical potential associated with the conserved baryon number
(\mu_{B}). Two fundamental properties of QCD, related to confinement and chiral
symmetry, allows for two corresponding phase transitions when T and \mu_{B} are
varied. Theoretically the phase diagram is explored through non-perturbative
QCD calculations on lattice. The energy scale for the phase diagram
(\Lambda_{QCD} ~ 200 MeV) is such that it can be explored experimentally by
colliding nuclei at varying beam energies in the laboratory. In this paper we
review some aspects of the QCD phase structure as explored through the
experimental studies using high energy nuclear collisions. Specifically, we
discuss three observations related to the formation of a strongly coupled
plasma of quarks and gluons in the collisions, experimental search for the QCD
critical point on the phase diagram and freeze-out properties of the hadronic
phase.Comment: Submitted to the New Journal of Physics focus issue "Strongly
Correlated Quantum Fluids: From Ultracold Quantum Gases to QCD Plasmas
Centrality dependence of pi^[+/-], K^[+/-], p and p-bar production from sqrt(s_NN)=130 GeV Au + Au collisions at RHIC
Identified pi^[+/-] K^[+/-], p and p-bar transverse momentum spectra at
mid-rapidity in sqrt(s_NN)=130 GeV Au-Au collisions were measured by the PHENIX
experiment at RHIC as a function of collision centrality. Average transverse
momenta increase with the number of participating nucleons in a similar way for
all particle species. The multiplicity densities scale faster than the number
of participating nucleons. Kaon and nucleon yields per participant increase
faster than the pion yields. In central collisions at high transverse momenta
(p_T greater than 2 GeV/c), anti-proton and proton yields are comparable to the
pion yields.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, 307 authors, accepted by Phys. Rev.
Lett. on 9 April 2002. This version has minor changes made in response to
referee Comments. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures
for this and previous PHENIX publications are publicly available at
http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/phenix/WWW/run/phenix/papers.htm
Formation of dense partonic matter in relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions at RHIC: Experimental evaluation by the PHENIX collaboration
Extensive experimental data from high-energy nucleus-nucleus collisions were
recorded using the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider
(RHIC). The comprehensive set of measurements from the first three years of
RHIC operation includes charged particle multiplicities, transverse energy,
yield ratios and spectra of identified hadrons in a wide range of transverse
momenta (p_T), elliptic flow, two-particle correlations, non-statistical
fluctuations, and suppression of particle production at high p_T. The results
are examined with an emphasis on implications for the formation of a new state
of dense matter. We find that the state of matter created at RHIC cannot be
described in terms of ordinary color neutral hadrons.Comment: 510 authors, 127 pages text, 56 figures, 1 tables, LaTeX. Submitted
to Nuclear Physics A as a regular article; v3 has minor changes in response
to referee comments. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures
for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available
at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm