Related papers: A short introduction to heavy-ion physics
We present a comprehensive review of the theoretical and experimental progress in the investigation of novel high-temperature quantum chromodynamics phenomena in small systems at both the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and the Large Hadron…
The exploration of the Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) phase diagram is a central goal of relativistic heavy-ion collision experiments. This review focuses on the role of fluctuations and correlations as sensitive probes of the phase…
The possibility of quantum entanglement leading to a seemingly thermal distribution of the initial partonic state that maps to the final hadronic state in the evolution of the deconfined phase generated in relativistic heavy ion collisions…
The current state of research on high-energy heavy ion physics, including its motivations and purpose is reviewed from a theorist's perspective. Possible future directions are discussed, in particular the possibility of investigating the…
New incarnations of heavy-ion collision experiments are turning our attention to hard processes and a more fine-grained resolution of the QGP. In this endeavor quarkonia or open heavy flavors turn out to be versatile probes, which are…
The Color Glass Condensate (CGC), describing the physics of the nonlinear gluonic interactions of QCD at high energy, provides a consistent first-principles framework to understand the initial conditions of heavy ion collisions. This talk…
We recall how nearly half a century ago the proposal was made to explore the structure of the quantum vacuum using slow heavy-ion collisions. Pursuing this topic we review the foundational concept of spontaneous vacuum decay accompanied by…
The realistic equation of state of strongly interacting matter, that has been successfully applied in the recent hydrodynamic studies of hadron production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions at RHIC, is used in the Friedmann equation to…
Relativistic hydrodynamics has been quite successful in explaining the collective behaviour of the QCD matter produced in high energy heavy-ion collisions at RHIC and LHC. We briefly review the latest developments in the hydrodynamical…
Understanding physics in domains of critical (quantum unstable) fields requires investigating the classical and quantum particle dynamics at the critical acceleration, $\dot u \to 1$ [natural units]. This regime of physics remains today…
We review the phenomenology and theory of bulk observables in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions, focussing on recent developments involving event-by-event fluctuations in the initial stages of a heavy ion collision, and how they…
Recent results connected to nuclear collision dynamics, from low up to relativistic energies, are reviewed. Heavy ion reactions offer the unique opportunity to probe the complex nuclear many-body dynamics and to explore, in laboratory…
Over the last decade, both experimental and theoretical advances have brought the need for strong coupling techniques in the analysis of deconfined QCD matter and heavy ion collisions to the forefront. As a consequence, a fruitful interplay…
Topical phenomena in high-energy physics related to collision experiments of heavy nuclei ("Little Bang") and early universe cosmology ("Big Bang") involve far-from-equilibrium dynamics described by quantum field theory. One example…
In this contribution we briefly give an overview of the theoretical models used to describe experimental data from heavy-ion collisions from $\sqrt{s_{NN}} \approx $ 4 GeV to ultra-relativistic energies of $\sqrt{s_{NN}} \approx $ 5 TeV. We…
Studying chemical reactions at very low temperatures is of importance for the understanding of fundamental physical and chemical processes. At very low energies, collisions are dominated by only a few partial waves. Thus, studies in this…
An overview of the latest theoretical developments and results on electromagnetic and weak probes in relativistic heavy-ion collisions is presented. The possibilities to use electromagnetic probes, i.e., photons and dileptons, as a…
We describe the current status of the heavy ion research program at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The new suite of experiments and the collider energies have opened up new probes of the medium created in the collisions. Our…
Off-central heavy-ion collisions are known to feature magnetic fields with magnitudes and characteristic gradients corresponding to the scale of the strong interactions. In this work, we employ equilibrium lattice simulations of the…
Heavy-ion collisions provide a versatile terrestrial probe of the nuclear equation of state through the formation of nuclear matter at a wide variety of temperatures, densities, and pressures. Direct and indirect approaches for constraining…