Probing Energy Loss in the Quark Gluon Plasma with Direct Photon Correlations

夸克胶子等离子体（QGP）是在相对论重离子对撞机（RHIC）的高能原子核碰撞中产生的一种热而致密的物质状态，它再现了宇宙的早期阶段。探索QGP增强了我们对核力的理解，并揭示了年轻宇宙的运作。QGP的性质是通过测量碰撞中产生的粒子的特征来研究的，这些粒子使用的是大型探测器和像PHENIX这样的复杂实验。该奖项将支持一个项目，该项目使用PHENIX收集的数据来研究碰撞产生的一些粒子信号如何相互关联。除了分析PHENIX数据外，该项目还将致力于仪器开发和探测器组件的测试，为PHENIX探测器的升级计划（称为sPHENIX）做准备。这个探测器将进行精确的测量，这将进一步增强我们对QGP内部运作的理解。该项目将测量PHENIX记录的重离子碰撞中光子-强子的直接相关性。光子-强子关联一直被认为是QGP中研究喷流的“黄金通道”。由于光子不通过强作用力相互作用，它不加修饰地逃离QGP，因此可以用来估计相反射流的初始动量。分析更新的更大的PHENIX数据集将实现比以前实现的更多的差分测量，这将获得QGP的传输系数。除了PHENIX分析之外，还为开发和测试用于sPHENIX的强子量热计提供了努力，在该量热计中，除了其他射流子结构观测外，还可以获得光子射流的相关性。这样的测量对于全面了解QGP和强作用力是至关重要的。

A hot, dense state of matter known as the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) is produced in high-energy collisions of nuclei at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and reproduces the early stages of the universe. Exploring the QGP enhances our understanding of the nuclear force and sheds light on the workings of the young universe. The properties of the QGP are studied by measuring the characteristics of the particles produced in the collisions using detectors that are at large and complex experiments like PHENIX. This award will support a project that uses data collected by PHENIX to investigate how some of the signals of particles coming out of the collisions are correlated with each other. In addition to the analysis of PHENIX data, this project will work on the instrumentation development and testing of detector components for an upgrade planned for the PHENIX detector called sPHENIX. This detector that will make precise measurements that will enhance further our understanding of the inner workings of the QGP. This project will measure direct photon-hadron correlations in heavy ion collisions recorded by PHENIX. Photon-hadron correlations have long been considered a "golden channel" for studying jets in the QGP. Since the photon does not interact via the strong force, it escapes the QGP unmodified and therefore can be used to estimate the initial momentum of the opposing jet. Analyzing the newer larger PHENIX datasets will enable more differential measurements than previously achieved, which will give access to the transport coefficients of the QGP. In addition to the PHENIX analysis, an effort is provided for developing and testing the hadronic calorimeter for sPHENIX where photon-jet correlations will be accessible in addition to other jet substructure observables. Such measurements are crucial for developing a complete understanding of the QGP and the strong force.