Speaker
Description
Heavy ion collisions reproduce droplets of the trillions-of-degrees-hot liquid that filled the microseconds-old universe, called quark-gluon plasma (QGP). Experiments at RHIC and the LHC have gathered extensive data about this plasma, showing that it flows with very low viscosity per particle and that it is very opaque to colored probes. I will show how we can measure and understand the dynamics of this complex many-body system, and extract transport properties of QCD matter from the data. Experimental observables we study include collective flows, electromagnetic radiation, and the effect of interactions with plasma on hard probes such as heavy quarks and jets. Jet substructure offers a particularly promising way to map the evolution of quarks and gluons to the hadrons seen in detectors. I will also discuss how the future Electron-Ion Collider will probe QCD in the cold, dense gluonic matter in the heart of nuclei.
