The Columbia University Nuclear Theory group works on the theory of extreme hot and dense states of (Quantum Chromodynamic QCD) strongly interacting matter and their diagnostics via relativistic nuclear reactions and is supported by the US Office of Science, DOE Nuclear Physics :
- Columbia University Nuclear Theory Group PhD Students
- William Horowitz, Ph.D expected Aug 2008
- Simon Wicks, Ph.D expected Aug. 2008
- Dr. Azfar Adil was awarded his Ph.D Aug. 2007
- Dr. Magdalena Djordjevic awarded Ph.D Aug. 2005
- Dr. Molnar and Dr. Vitev were awarded Ph.D's Aug. 2002
- Columbia University Nuclear Theory Group PhD Postdoc 2007-2009
- Dr. Jorge Noronha (PhD J.W. Goethe Uni 2007)
- Some reprints
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Misc Posted Stuff
Visitor Program May-June 2003 on High pT correlations at RHIC >
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RHIC
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PHENIX experiment
- STAR experiment
My Publication List on QSpires
Currently Teaching Spring 2008 Physics G6040 ; see CU Courseworks link
FIAS talks 1/18/07 "So, What's a sQGP?" presented at the 2007 Helmholtz School, Frankurt DE
RBRC talk 5/15/04 "New Forms of QCD Matter Discovered at RHIC" presented at RBRC/BNL workshop
QM04 talk 1/16/04 "The Discovery of the QGP @ RHIC" presented at workshop
RBRC talk 12/04/03 "The High pT View of the QGP @ RHIC"
CU Theory Seminar 9/15/03 : "The QGP has been found at RHIC" where
See also Wigner Symp 6/18/03 , and CIPANP 5/21/03 > The Null Control experimental results on Deuteron+Au at RHIC reported 1 , 2 on June 18, 2003 mark the birthday of the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) at RHIC in my opinion.
The Deuterium+Au data on the absence of jet quenching in this reaction in the pT~3-10 GeV range proved that the previous observation of strong jet quenching in Au+Au (1) and the striking unquenching of back-to-back correlations in D+Au reported from the four experiments, STAR , PHENIX , PHOBOS , and BRAHMS , confirmed our predictions (Ivan Vitev, M.G, PRL89(02)) and the predictions of other colleagues. These data established that strong jet quenching effect and the mono-jet topology observed in central Au+Au reactions > must be due to quark and gluon jet energy loss in the dense QCD matter that is produced in central Au+Au reactions at 200 AGeV. An alternate hypothesis based on strong initial state gluon shadowing was ruled out in the mid rapidity kinematic range (x> 0.01).
PHENIX and STAR in 2005 confirmed our jet quenching predictions out to pT~ 20 GeV/c. The absence of suppression of direct photons provides a further control showing that only colored quark and gluon jets are quenched as we predicted via the Standard Model QCD.
Our jet tomographic analysis of the Au+Au quenching pattern indicates that the initial energy density of the QCD matter in Au+Au central reactions was about 100 times higher than in ordinary nuclei. The predictions and analysis were based on our GLV opacity expansion formalism of nonabelian energy loss. Jet quenching in high energy nuclear collisions was proposed in collaboration with Michael Pluemer and Xin-Nian Wang as a novel probe of ultra-dense QCD matter produced at RHIC and higher energies. For a (pdf format) review of our theory of jet quenching and tomography click [GVWZ_03.pdf]
The quenching pattern in Au+Au, together with the striking bulk hydrodynamic collective elliptic flow pattern prove not only that the highest density matter ever formed in the laboratory was produced at RHIC, but that it is the sought after new form of primordial Quark-Gluon-Plasma (QGP) phase of matter since 1975.
The bulk collectivity observed predicted by hydrodynamics agrees with the observed elliptic flow moments, v2(pT<2 GeV,h), when the lattice QCD equation of state is used as input. Significantly, the initial density inferred from our jet tomographic analysis is close to that infered from hydrodynamic analysis . In contrast, at lower (SPS, AGS) energies the bulk collective flow was found to be much weaker than predicted via perfect fluid hydrodynamics. The accumulated evidence on the remarkable collective flow characteristics led to the April 18, 2005 BNL announcement of the "Perfect Fluid" property of the QGP observed at RHIC.
For these and other reasons I concluded [1] that a QGP was discovered at RHIC [2]. In collaboration with T. Hirano, we have further concluded that the "perfect fluidity" discovered at RHIC is a unique experimental signature of the deconfinement of quark and gluon degrees of freedom above a temperature T>170 MeV as predicted by lattice QCD. While many details of the QGP dynamics are not yet understood, the existence of this ultra-dense form of QCD matter is now established via its high opacity to penetrating jets, its remarkable bulk elliptic flow patterns, and the null results of D+aU control experiments.
The next task at RHIC is to map out with higher precision and detail the other properties of this new phase of matter. Essential probes such as the lepton spectra from heavy (charm, bottom) quarks, direct photons radiated from energetic quarks, photon tagged jets, and multipacticle correlations will require extensive new measurements. In addition, there are a number of unsolved puzzles that may point to new physics. The unusual space-time geometry of the reaction dynamics inferred via pion interferometry and the high baryon to meson ratios are examples. The main experimental knobs at RHIC, 1) beam energy, Ecm, and 2) beam atomic composition, A+B, will need to be turned generously through the large dynamic range possible with the RHIC accelerator to extract further new physics from the QGP phase of nuclear matter. Starting in late 2008 our group looks forward to the startup of the LHC at CERN where nuclear reactions at center of mass energies 5000 ATeV will probe the QGP at higher temperatures and with probes of much higher resolution with pT~ 100 GeV.
Postdoc JOB OPPORTUNITIES in group: closed for 2007-2009
I sometimes hideout at the
RIKEN BNL Research Center
or at the BNL Nuclear Theory Group
Last modified: March 8, 2008 This page has been accessed 19,136 times since 15-Apr-2002 CronCount -
Misc Posted Stuff
