Search for signatures of phase transition in hadronic matter at RHIC

• Applicant: Dr. Judith Maria Katzy
• Subject Area: Nuclear and Elementary Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Relativity, Fields
• Term: from 2000 to 2002
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5253308

The relativistic heavy ion collider, RHIC, in Brookhaven (USA) is scheduled to start data collection in spring 2000. It will collide different nuclear species with a center of mass energy of 200 GeV per nucleon, creating the highest energy densities over large volumes ever achieved in the laboratory. Very high energy densities are believed to exist in the cores of neutron stars and may have existed 10-5s after the Big Bang, at the dawn of the Universe. Searches for manifestations of new phases of hadronic matter, such as the quark-gluon-plasma, will be possible at RHIC. This should lead to a better understanding of the physics of hadrons, specifically of Quantum Chromo Dynamics, the modern theory of strong interactions. The results will also crucially influence the models on the development of the Universe. The PHOBOS experiment at RHIC is designed to search for signatures of new physics. As a member of the PHOBOS collaboration my plan is to measure an analyze the total charged particle multiplicity, their pseudorapidity distribution and their transverse momentum spectrum in this respect. I will contribute to the data collection by providing the real-time monitoring system.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: USA