Relativistic Heavy-Ion Physics at the University of Rochester

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0072204Wolfs This grant provides operating funds for the relativistic heavy-ion group at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Rochester. During the three years covered by this grant we will complete the analysis of the data collected by E917 at the AGS and start taking data using the PHOBOS detector at RHIC. PHOBOS is one of the four approved experiments ready to run at the turn-on of RHIC. PHOBOS will have the first look at the extreme energy densities that will be created when gold nuclei collide at RHIC. It is believed that a new state of matter, the so-called quark-gluon plasma (QGP), will be formed in these collisions. PHOBOS will study this new state of matter, and its properties will provide important and new information about the state of the very early universe (a few microseconds after the Big Bang). PHOBOS is designed to study as many collisions as possible, in an unbiased way, and to search for significant differences between p-p, p-A, and A-A collisions. Due to its inherent simplicity, PHOBOS has the potential of a major scientific discovery during the initial running period of RHIC. The time-of-flight array designed and constructed by the Rochester group will significantly enhance the physics capabilities of PHOBOS, by roughly doubling its acceptance.