Properties of Strongly Interacting Matter at Finite Density from First Principles

就在大爆炸后的几微秒，夸克-胶子等离子体弥漫在我们的宇宙中。这种强相互作用物质的阶段存在于极端的温度或密度条件下，就像目前在相对论重离子对撞机（RHIC）和大型强子对撞机（LHC）上发生的超相对论重离子碰撞中实现的，或者在核或中子星或它们的合并中实现的。该项目将通过计算第一原理的可观测量并将其与测量相关联来推进我们对热的和致密的强相互作用物质的认识。PI将研究这些效应，如果得到证实，可能会改变我们对解除禁闭相变和强相互作用物质的理解。现在在理论计算中可达到的高精度允许理论和实验之间的这种结合的努力第一次。该项目将有助于培养下一代本科生和研究生阶段从事基本相互作用理论研究的学生。PI将通过公开讲座，研讨会和访问休斯顿学校向代表性不足的少数民族推广物理学。她将与代表性不足的学生协会合作，制定一项计划，在UH招收本科生和研究生。 该项目的目的是通过第一性原理晶格模拟，辅以唯象方法，在理论和实验之间建立桥梁，以显着推进我们对强相互作用物质的理解。PI计划通过从第一原理计算几个可观测量来实现这一目标：守恒电荷涨落连接到重离子实验，第一次在有限重子和奇异密度下的状态方程;包含具有QCD正确特征的临界点。该方法是使用第一原理的数值模拟来计算相关的可观测量。然后，这些观测值可以直接与RHIC和LHC的实验结果进行比较，或者它们可以用作重离子碰撞或中子星星合并演化的唯象模型的输入。最后，它们中的一些可以用于通过参数或相互作用约束来改进唯象模型。夸克-胶子等离子体表现出与其他强相互作用系统（如磁光阱中的超冷原子气体）相同的几个特征。因此，对热而致密的QCD物质的研究将产生对一类物理系统的新见解，而不仅限于核物理领域。该项目推进了“宇宙之窗：多信使天体物理学时代”，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

Just a few microseconds after the Big Bang, the Quark-Gluon Plasma permeated our universe. This phase of strongly interacting matter exists under extreme conditions of temperatures or densities, like the ones achieved in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions currently taking place at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), or the ones realized in nature in the core or neutron stars or their mergers. This project will advance our knowledge of hot and dense strongly interacting matter by calculating observables from first principles and relating them to measurements. The PI will investigate effects which, if verified, could change our understanding of the deconfinement phase transition and strongly interacting matter. The high precision now achievable in the theoretical calculations allows such a combined effort between theory and experiment for the first time. The project will contribute to training the next generation of students working on the theory of fundamental interactions, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The PI will promote physics to underrepresented minorities through public lectures, seminars and visits to Houston schools. She will work with associations of underrepresented students to develop a program to recruit undergraduate and graduate students at UH. The purpose of this project is to significantly advance our understanding of strongly interacting matter by means of first principle lattice simulations, complemented by phenomenological approaches, to build a bridge between theory and experiment. The PI plans to achieve this goal by calculating several observables from first principles: conserved charge fluctuations to connect to heavy-ion experiments, Equation of State at finite baryonic and strangeness density for the first time; inclusion of a critical point with the correct features for QCD. The methodology is to calculate relevant observables using numerical simulations from first principles. These observables can then either be directly compared to experimental results from RHIC and the LHC, or they can be used as inputs into phenomenological models for the evolution of heavy-ion collisions or neutron star mergers. Finally, some of them can be used to improve phenomenological models through parameter or interaction constraints. The Quark-Gluon Plasma exhibits several features in common to other strongly interacting systems, such as ultra-cold atom gases in a magneto-optical trap. Thus, the study of hot and dense QCD matter will yield novel insight into a class of physical systems, not limited to the domain of nuclear physics.This project advances the objectives of "Windows on the Universe: the Era of Multi-Messenger Astrophysics", one of the 10 Big Ideas for Future NSF Investments.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.