Equation of State and Collective Dynamics

This talk summarizes the present status of a program to quantitatively relate data from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) on collective expansion flow to the Equation of State (EOS) of hot and dense strongly interacting matter, including the quark-gluon plasma and the quark-hadron phase transition. The limits reached with the present state of the art and the next steps required to make further progress will both be discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 6 two-part figures. Invited talk given at the 5th International Conference on the Physics and Astrophysics of Quark-Gluon Plasma (ICPAQGP 2005), Kolkata (India), Feb 8-12, 2005. Proceedings to be published in Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Jan-E Alam et al., eds.

Jet multiplicities as the QGP thermometer

It is proposed to use the energy behavior of mean multiplicities of jets propagating in a nuclear medium as the thermometer of this medium during the collision phases. The qualitative effects are demonstrated in the framework of the fixed coupling QCD with account of jet quenching.Comment: Modify version of hep-ph/0509344, 3 figure

Exploring the properties of the phases of QCD matter - research opportunities and priorities for the next decade

This document provides a summary of the discussions during the recent joint QCD Town Meeting at Temple University of the status of and future plans for the research program of the relativistic heavy-ion community. A list of compelling questions is formulated, and a number of recommendations outlining the greatest research opportunities and detailing the research priorities of the heavy-ion community, voted on and unanimously approved at the Town Meeting, are presented. They are supported by a broad discussion of the underlying physics and its relation to other subfields. Areas of overlapping interests with the "QCD and Hadron Structure" ("cold QCD") subcommunity, in particular the recommendation for the future construction of an Electron-Ion Collider, are emphasized. The agenda of activities of the "hot QCD" subcommunity at the Town Meeting is attached.Comment: 34 pages of text, 254 references,16 figure

Hydrodynamics at RHIC -- how well does it work, where and how does it break down?

I review the successes and limitations of the ideal fluid dynamic model in describing hadron emission spectra from Au+Au collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC).Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Invited talk presented at Strange Quark Matter 2004 (Cape Town, Sep. 15-20, 2004). Proceedings to appear in Journal of Physics

Flow fluctuations and long-range correlations: elliptic flow and beyond

These proceedings consist of a brief overview of the current understanding of collective behavior in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. In particular, recent progress in understanding the implications of event-by-event fluctuations have solved important puzzles in existing data -- the "ridge" and "shoulder" phenomena of long-range two-particle correlations -- and have created an exciting opportunity to tightly constrain theoretical models with many new observables.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings for the 22nd International Conference On Ultra-Relativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (Quark Matter 2011), Annecy, France, May 23 - 28, 2011; includes Fig. 2 which was omitted from journal submission for lack of spac

Creation of effective magnetic fields in optical lattices: The Hofstadter butterfly for cold neutral atoms

We investigate the dynamics of neutral atoms in a 2D optical lattice which traps two distinct internal states of the atoms in different columns. Two Raman lasers are used to coherently transfer atoms from one internal state to the other, thereby causing hopping between the different columns. By adjusting the laser parameters appropriately we can induce a non vanishing phase of particles moving along a closed path on the lattice. This phase is proportional to the enclosed area and we thus simulate a magnetic flux through the lattice. This setup is described by a Hamiltonian identical to the one for electrons on a lattice subject to a magnetic field and thus allows us to study this equivalent situation under very well defined controllable conditions. We consider the limiting case of huge magnetic fields -- which is not experimentally accessible for electrons in metals -- where a fractal band structure, the Hofstadter butterfly, characterizes the system.Comment: 6 pages, RevTe

The Intrinsic Origin of Spin Echoes in Dipolar Solids Generated by Strong Pi Pulses

In spectroscopy, it is conventional to treat pulses much stronger than the linewidth as delta-functions. In NMR, this assumption leads to the prediction that pi pulses do not refocus the dipolar coupling. However, NMR spin echo measurements in dipolar solids defy these conventional expectations when more than one pi pulse is used. Observed effects include a long tail in the CPMG echo train for short delays between pi pulses, an even-odd asymmetry in the echo amplitudes for long delays, an unusual fingerprint pattern for intermediate delays, and a strong sensitivity to pi-pulse phase. Experiments that set limits on possible extrinsic causes for the phenomena are reported. We find that the action of the system's internal Hamiltonian during any real pulse is sufficient to cause the effects. Exact numerical calculations, combined with average Hamiltonian theory, identify novel terms that are sensitive to parameters such as pulse phase, dipolar coupling, and system size. Visualization of the entire density matrix shows a unique flow of quantum coherence from non-observable to observable channels when applying repeated pi pulses.Comment: 24 pages, 27 figures. Revised from helpful referee comments. Added new Table IV, new paragraphs on pages 3 and 1

Quark-Gluon Plasma at RHIC and the LHC: Perfect Fluid too Perfect?

Relativistic heavy ion collisions have reached energies that enable the creation of a novel state of matter termed the quark-gluon plasma. Many observables point to a picture of the medium as rapidly equilibrating and expanding as a nearly inviscid fluid. In this article, we explore the evolution of experimental flow observables as a function of collision energy and attempt to reconcile the observed similarities across a broad energy regime in terms of the initial conditions and viscous hydrodynamics. If the initial spatial anisotropies are very similar for all collision energies from 39 GeV to 2.76 TeV, we find that viscous hydrodynamics might be consistent with the level of agreement for v2 of unidentified hadrons as a function of pT . However, we predict a strong collision energy dependence for the proton v2(pT). The results presented in this paper highlight the need for more systematic studies and a re-evaluation of previously stated sensitivities to the early time dynamics and properties of the medium.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, submitted to the New Journal of Physics focus issue "Strongly Correlated Quantum Fluids: From Ultracold Quantum Gases to QCD Plasmas

First Results from the XENON10 Dark Matter Experiment at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory

The XENON10 experiment at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory uses a 15 kg xenon dual phase time projection chamber (XeTPC) to search for dark matter weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). The detector measures simultaneously the scintillation and the ionization produced by radiation in pure liquid xenon, to discriminate signal from background down to 4.5 keV nuclear recoil energy. A blind analysis of 58.6 live days of data, acquired between October 6, 2006 and February 14, 2007, and using a fiducial mass of 5.4 kg, excludes previously unexplored parameter space, setting a new 90% C.L. upper limit for the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross-section of 8.8 x 10^{-44} cm^2 for a WIMP mass of 100 GeV/c^2, and 4.5 x 10^{-44} cm^2 for a WIMP mass of 30 GeV/c^2. This result further constrains predictions of supersymmetric models.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Corner Transfer Matrix Algorithm for Classical Renormalization Group

We report a real-space renormalization group (RSRG) algorithm, which is formulated through Baxter's corner transfer matrix (CTM), for two-dimensional (d = 2) classical lattice models. The new method performs the renormalization group transformation according to White's density matrix algorithm, so that variational free energies are minimized within a restricted degree of freedom m. As a consequence of the renormalization, spin variables on each corner of CTM are replaced by a m-state block spin variable. It is shown that the thermodynamic functions and critical exponents of the q = 2, 3 Potts models can be precisely evaluated by use of the renormalization group method.Comment: 20 pages, 10 ps figures, JPSJ style files are include