RUI: Studies of Relativistic Heavy Ions Collisions in ALICE at the LHC

众所周知，质子和中子是由更小的夸克和胶子组成的。 在使用两束重核的碰撞中，形成了一种新的物质状态，称为夸克胶子等离子体（QGP）。 这个项目将回答有关QGP的基本问题，例如物质如何从质子和中子的集合转变为自由状态，夸克和胶子可以不受阻碍地穿越空间，就像它们在大爆炸后的物质原始汤中所做的那样。这个提议的目的是研究在高速夸克穿过这种介质时QGP的动力学。 这提供了更多关于夸克和胶子在这种独特物质状态下流动的信息。欧洲核子研究组织（CERN）的重离子计划的重点是了解物质在非常高密度下的行为，相当于大爆炸后几分之一秒的条件，当时存在热的、稠密的夸克和胶子介质。目标是通过相对论动能下的原子核碰撞来重现和研究这些条件。芝加哥州立大学将通过对含有夸克偶素和奇异粒子的喷流进行物理分析来为这一努力做出贡献。 本文研究了质子-质子碰撞中夸克偶素和奇异态的产生机制以及铅-铅碰撞中夸克-胶子介质对喷注能量沉积的响应。该项目还包括研发贡献的快速互动触发器（FIT）的建设，这一努力将提供机会，本科生参与硬件项目：粒子探测器的开发，测试和调试。

It is a well-established fact that protons and neutrons are made up of smaller constituents called quarks and gluons. In collisions using two beams of heavy nuclei, a new state of matter is formed, called the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). This project will answer fundamental questions about the QGP, such as how matter is transformed from a collection of protons and neutrons to a free state where quarks and gluons can travel through space unhindered, much like they did in the primordial soup of matter following the Big Bang. The goal of this proposal is to the dynamics of the QGP in the presence of a high-velocity quark traveling through this medium. This provides more information on the flow of quarks and gluons in this unique state of matter. The research will be carried out at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) using the ALICE detector.The focus of the Heavy Ion program at CERN is to understand the behavior of matter at very high density, corresponding to conditions a fraction of a second after the Big Bang, when a hot, dense medium of quarks and gluons existed. The goal is to recreate and study these conditions via colliding nuclei at relativistic kinetic energies. Chicago State University will contribute to this effort by working on the physics analysis of jets containing quarkonia and strange particles. This study investigates the production mechanism of quarkonia and strangeness production in proton-proton collisions and the response of the quark-gluon medium to jet energy deposition in lead-lead collisions. The project also includes an R&D contribution to the construction of the Fast Interaction Trigger (FIT); this effort will provide opportunities for the involvement of undergraduate students in hardware projects: the developing, testing and commissioning of particle detectors.