Experiment NA61 /SHINE at the CERN SPS:Search for the Critical Point andStudy of the Onset of Deconfinement

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Marek Gazdzicki
• Subject Area: Nuclear and Elementary Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Relativity, Fields
• Term: from 2010 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 179344391

The objective of the project is to search for the critical point of strongly interacting matter and to study the properties of the onset of deconfinement. The applicant carries out for the first time in the history of nucleus-nucleus collisions a comprehensive scan in two dimensional parameter space: size of colliding nuclei versus interaction energy. The study is performed within the NA61/SHINE experiment at the CERN SPS.The applicant is the initiator and the spokesperson of this experiment, which comprises three physics programs related to cosmic-ray, neutrino and heavy ion physics. Synergy of the NA61/SHINE programs as well as the use of the existing accelerator chain and detectors offer the unique opportunity to reach the ambitious physics goals of the project in a very efficient and cost effective way.The requested DFG support will be used for the experiment coordination, the data taking, calibration, analysis as well as development of methods and models.The project has a potential for an important discovery - the experimental observation of the critical point of strongly interacting matter. It guarantees precision measurements crucial for the understanding of the properties of the onset of deconfinement.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants