Study of the Dynamics and Properties of Hot and Dense Quark and Gluon Matter

众所周知，质子和中子是由称为夸克和胶子的较小成分组成的。在使用两束重原子核的碰撞中，由这些成分形成一种新的物质状态，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，如QGP的时空动力学及其输运性质。该项目将通过研究集体涨落流动和粒子与QGP的相互作用来进行。高能密度物质的研究对我们理解量子色动力学(QCD)理论有着深远的影响，QCD理论支配着原子核的行为、早期宇宙的演化、超新星爆炸和中子星的性质。这项研究将在欧洲的大型强子对撞机上使用ATLAS探测器进行，并将在布鲁克海文国家实验室的相对论重离子对撞机上使用恒星探测器进行，重点是在BNL的束能扫描。ATLAS和STAR实验都为研究生提供了极好的培训机会。所建议的测量包括：1.与限制A+A碰撞中物质的动力学和性质的测量相比，对横向和纵向上的粒子关联进行全面的模型研究。这项工作需要发明新的分析方法，开发事件形状触发器，以利用即将到来的高光度铅+铅运行，以及在RHIC的较低碰撞能量下进行类似的分析。2.利用星束能量扫描第二阶段程序中的多重数和守恒电荷的高阶累积量，绘制了QCD相图，寻找了可能的QCD临界点。建议的努力建立在该组织在各种相关测量方面的成熟专业知识的基础上。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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 from these constituents, called the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). This project will answer fundamental questions about the QGP, such as the space-time dynamics of the QGP and its transport properties. The project will be carried out by studying the collective flow of fluctuations and particle interactions with the QGP. Studies of high energy density matter can have a profound impact on our understanding of the theory of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), which governs the behavior of nuclei and the evolution of the early universe, supernova explosions and the properties of neutron stars. The research will be carried out at the Large Hadron Collider in Europe using the ATLAS detector, and at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider of Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) using the STAR detector, with an emphasis on the Beam Energy Scan at BNL. Both the ATLAS and STAR experiments provide excellent training opportunities for graduate students. The proposed measurements include: 1. Comprehensive model studies of particle correlations in transverse and longitudinal directions as compared with measurements to constrain the dynamics and properties of the matter in A+A collisions. This effort requires inventing new analysis methods, developing event-shape triggers to take advantage of the upcoming high-luminosity Pb+Pb run, as well as carrying out similar analyses at lower collision energy at RHIC. 2. Detailed efforts to map out the QCD phase diagram and search for the possible QCD critical point, by utilizing the higher-order cumulants of multiplicity and conserved charges in the STAR beam energy scan phase II program. The proposed efforts are built upon the group's established expertise in various correlation measurements.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.