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| relativistic heavy ion collisions | |
|---|---|
| Name | Relativistic heavy ion collisions |
| Field | High-energy nuclear physics |
| Facilities | CERN, Brookhaven National Laboratory, GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, RIKEN, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory |
| Notable experiments | ALICE, ATLAS experiment, CMS experiment, STAR Collaboration, PHENIX |
| First conducted | Bevalac |
| Related | Quark–Gluon Plasma, Quantum chromodynamics |
relativistic heavy ion collisions are high-energy interactions between nuclei accelerated to velocities near the speed of light to study strongly interacting matter under extreme conditions. These experiments recreate temperatures and energy densities similar to those in the early Big Bang and probe emergent phenomena predicted by Quantum chromodynamics. Major international collaborations at large accelerator complexes coordinate detector operations, data analysis, and theoretical interpretation across nuclear and particle physics communities.
Relativistic heavy ion collision programs began at facilities such as Bevalac and expanded with projects at CERN and Brookhaven National Laboratory under international collaborations including ALICE, STAR Collaboration, and PHENIX. Prominent laboratories like GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research and RIKEN joined initiatives alongside institutions such as Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. These efforts brought together scientists from universities like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Cambridge, University of California, Berkeley, Princeton University, and University of Tokyo to address questions bridging Particle Physics and Nuclear Physics.
Major accelerators for heavy ion research include the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory, the Heavy Ion Synchrotron (SIS) at GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, and the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory at RIKEN. Supporting injector chains involve machines like the SIS18, LINAC, and Booster at national labs such as Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory. Detector systems are developed by collaborations including ALICE, ATLAS experiment, CMS experiment, LHCb, STAR Collaboration, and PHENIX with instrumentation expertise from groups at CERN, Brookhaven Lab, GSI, and universities such as Yale University and Columbia University.
Theoretical descriptions employ frameworks rooted in Quantum chromodynamics and many-body field theory developed by researchers affiliated with institutes like Institute for Nuclear Theory, CERN Theory Department, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Models incorporate initial-state descriptions inspired by the Color Glass Condensate concept proposed by groups connected to Brookhaven National Laboratory and CERN, pre-equilibrium dynamics studied by teams from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and hydrodynamic evolution using approaches advanced at Princeton University, University of Frankfurt, and CEA Saclay. Lattice calculations from collaborations at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Riken BNL Research Center constrain the equation of state used in simulations developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The search for deconfined matter called the Quark–Gluon Plasma involves observables emphasized by groups at CERN and Brookhaven National Laboratory, including strangeness enhancement studied by collaborations at ALICE and NA49, jet quenching analyzed by teams at ATLAS experiment and CMS experiment, and quarkonia suppression investigated by researchers from NA50 and PHENIX. Thermodynamic properties are compared with lattice QCD results from centers like Brookhaven National Laboratory and RIKEN, while statistical hadronization patterns are interpreted by theorists at GSI and University of Heidelberg.
Particle yield measurements conducted by ALICE, STAR Collaboration, PHENIX, and NA61/SHINE inform models of chemical freeze-out developed by groups at CERN and University of Copenhagen. Hadronization mechanisms, including coalescence models advanced at Fermilab and string fragmentation concepts from CERN, are tested against spectra and correlations measured by collaborations such as CMS experiment and ATLAS experiment. Strange and multi-strange hadron production analyzed by teams at ALICE and NA49 links to work from universities like University of Texas at Austin and Seoul National University.
Flow observables (elliptic flow, triangular flow) measured by STAR Collaboration, ALICE, and ATLAS experiment provide evidence for near-perfect fluid behavior, a result refined by hydrodynamic studies at Princeton University and University of California, Berkeley. Flow harmonics and event-by-event fluctuations are analyzed with tools from groups at Columbia University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and University of Oxford, while correlations and femtoscopy techniques developed at CERN and GSI probe space–time evolution with input from Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Electromagnetic probes (direct photons, dileptons) measured by PHENIX and ALICE complement hard probes (jets, heavy flavors) analyzed by ATLAS experiment, CMS experiment, and STAR Collaboration. Heavy-quark energy loss studied by researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory constrains transport coefficients computed in perturbative and nonperturbative frameworks developed at CERN Theory Department and Institute for Nuclear Theory. Jet substructure methods introduced by teams at Fermilab and University of Chicago are applied by collaborations including ALICE and ATLAS experiment.
Simulations combine hydrodynamics, transport, and microscopic event generators maintained by groups at Brookhaven National Laboratory, CERN, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Codes such as those originating from collaborations at Princeton University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Wuppertal, and GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research integrate lattice QCD inputs from RIKEN and Brookhaven National Laboratory and are executed on supercomputers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center. Analysis frameworks developed at CERN and Brookhaven National Laboratory support global efforts spanning institutions including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Tokyo, and University of Heidelberg.
Category:High-energy nuclear physics