Studying Jet Modification using New Techniques in Direct Photon-Jet 2-Particle Correlation Measurements at RHIC/PHENIX

该奖项将资助在布鲁克海文国家实验室的相对论重离子对撞机上进行的研究，该实验室将研究通过大型高能核碰撞产生的称为夸克胶子等离子体的奇异物质状态。这种物质的性质应该主要由称为量子色动力学的理论来描述，作为同一种强力的表现形式，这种强力不仅将质子和中子结合在原子核内，而且还将称为夸克和胶子的较小粒子结合在质子和中子本身内。 但是，对于夸克和胶子在高温下处于等离子体状态时的集体行为，人们知之甚少。具体而言，研究者将研究血浆与各种探针的相互作用。 在相同的碰撞中产生的被称为直接光子的非常高能量的X射线可以穿透等离子体，从而可以提供重要的信息。 最有希望的是，这些光子可以与在类似的高能量下产生的夸克进行比较，但是夸克应该与介质发生强烈的相互作用，并且大多数情况下会被介质阻挡，以便推断出这些相互作用的主要特征，这些特征目前尚不清楚。使用一些技术，包括特别是相关性测量的分析，这种现象将由调查员进行，与研究生和本科生在培训中，在RHIC的PHENIX实验收集的数据。 除了这些分析项目外，俄亥俄州大学的研究人员小组还将通过软件开发以及领导检测器开发和分析的小组和项目来支持PHENIX计算、分析和数据采集能力的升级。除了教育和培训学生的重要目标外，该项目还为社会带来了许多广泛的好处：在俄亥俄州和其他州建立了组织来交流重离子知识; RHIC和其他核/粒子物理学家的国际合作得到加强;最后，该项目为国家未来计算的发展带来了许多普遍的好处。

This award will fund research conducted at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Lab which will study the exotic state of matter called the quark-gluon plasma, created through collisions of large and highly energetic nuclei. The properties of this matter should be described primarily by the theory called Quantum Chromodynamics as manifestations of the same Strong force that not only holds protons and neutrons together within the atomic nucleus but also smaller particles called quarks and gluons together within the protons and neutrons themselves. But little is known about how the quarks and gluons behave collectively when in the plasma state at high temperatures. Specifically the investigator will study interactions of the plasma with various probes. Very high energy versions of X-rays called direct photons produced in the same collisions can penetrate the plasma and can thus provide important information. Most promisingly, these photons can be compared with quarks produced at similar high energies but which should interact strongly with and mostly be stopped by the medium, in order to deduce major features of these interactions which are currently unknown. Analysis of such phenomena using a number of techniques including especially correlation measurements will be performed by the investigator, with both graduate and undergraduate students in training, on data collected by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC. In addition to these analysis projects, the investigator's group at Ohio University will support the upgrade of computing, analysis, and data-taking capabilities of PHENIX through software development and leadership of groups and projects of detector development and analysis. The project results in a number of broad benefits to society beyond the important goal of educating and training students: organizations are developed in the state of Ohio and beyond to exchange Heavy Ion knowledge; international collaboration of RHIC and other nuclear/particle physicists is strengthened; finally the project contributes to many general benefits to the development of future computing in the nation.