Chasing the Unicorn: RHIC and the QGP

At nonzero temperature, it is expected that QCD undergoes a phase transition to a deconfined, chirally symmetric phase, the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP). I review what we expect theoretically about this possible transition, and what we have learned from heavy ion experiments at RHIC. I argue that while there are unambiguous signals for qualitatively new behavior at RHIC, versus experiments at lower energies, that in detail, no simple theoretical model can explain all salient features of the data

Applications of chiral symmetry

I discuss several topics in the applications of chiral symmetry at nonzero temperature, including: where the rho goes, disoriented chiral condensates, and the phase diagram for $QCD$ with $2+1$ flavors. (Based upon talks presented at the "Workshop on Finite Temperature $QCD$", Wuhan, P.R.C., April, 1994.)Comment: 47 pages, LaTeX. 13 .epsi figures in a seperate uuencoded, compressed, tarred file

Why the Quark-Gluon Plasma isn't a Plasma

An alternate picture of the deconfined phase of gauge theories is described. Instead of a plasma, the theory is viewed as a condensate of Polyakov lines. The pressure is determined by an elementary mean field theory.Comment: Presented at SEWM, 2000. Requires sprocl.st

Fuzzy Bags and Wilson Lines

I start with an elementary observation about the pressure in the deconfined phase of a SU(3) gauge theory without quarks. This suggests a ``fuzzy'' bag model for the analogous pressure in QCD, with dynamical quarks. I then sketch how the deconfined phase might be described using an effective theory of Wilson lines. To leading order in weak coupling, the effective electric field appears in a form familiar from the lattice theory of Banks and Ukawa.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, PTPTeX. Based upon a talk given at Yukawa International Seminar (YKIS) 2006, ``New Frontiers in QCD -- Exotic Hadrons and Hadronic Matter'

To VMD, or not to VMD, in the quark-gluon plasma

I review results on the shift of the $\rho$ meson mass at nonzero temperature in a gauged linear sigma model, under the assumption of strict vector meson dominance. (Based upon a talk presented at the International Workshop on "Chiral Dynamics in Hadrons and Nuclei", Seoul, Korea, Feb., 1995).Comment: 14 pages, LaTe