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Research
Abstract:
The
fundamental theory accounting for both the proton structure and the
nuclear forces is Quantum Chromo-Dynamics (QCD), the theory of strong
interactions. The study of QCD under extreme conditions of high
energies, temperatures and densities has long been one of the most
challenging problems in physics, capturing increasing experimental and
theoretical attention.
The main goal of the workshop is to gather together a number
of experts in
the theory of high energy heavy ion collisions and discuss outstanding
open questions. We would want to sharpen our understanding of the
fundamental theory and phenomenological models, to discuss their
reliability and predictive power. Furthermore, we would have to clarify
our expectations for the new LHC run and provide theoretical input for
this most exciting experimental research program.
When probed at very high energies, heavy nuclei and even protons appear
as dense gluonic clouds and their collisions require a solid
understanding of multiple gluonic interactions. Heavy ion collisions
involve several stages: initial conditions given by the nucleus
wavefunction, a very short thermalization phase, Quark Gluon Plasma
(QGP), and freezout followed by hadronization. For each phase there are
various models, which, although capturing the main physical ideas,
still lack the first principle justification/derivation.
In HI collisions at the LHC, a parametrically large number of gluons is
liberated into the final state. This dense state will clearly be
strongly interacting and must exhibit collective behavior. Although
these interactions are primarily responsible for the thermalization of
the plasma, the thermalization mechanism is currently not well
understood, but it is believed that it occurs very quickly within less
than One Fermi after the collision. The high-energy QCD should enable
us to understand the mechanism of the thermalization process.
Of particular interest are long-range rapidity and angular correlations
between the particles produced. Known as the "ridge", these
correlations were first discovered in heavy ion collisions at the RHIC.
They were also observed in the first HI run at the LHC and most
recently even in proton-nucleus collisions.
The prime scientific objective of this workshop is to further discuss
the theory of high-energy collisions of dense objects from
first-principle calculations in QCD. The workshop plans to focus on the
topics listed above.
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