The main topic of the workshop is the physics of strongly interacting nuclear matter at extreme energy densities. Quantum Chromo-Dynamics, the theory describing the forces acting within atomic nuclei, predicts that at sufficiently high temperatures and/or densities, matter should undergo a transition from the standard hadronic phase to a plasma of deconfined quarks and gluons (Quark Gluon Plasma, QGP) - a transition which, according to our cosmological models, took place in the early universe about 10 microseconds after the Big Bang.
Already the programs at the Brookhaven National Laboratory Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) and the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) have produced evidence for the onset of new phenomena. The research in this field is now successfully continuing at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) at BNL while the next phase, to take place at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), is under preparation. There are around 2000 physicists worldwide working in the field: a very active and lively, expanding community. In such a context, good communication and networking, especially among the young and productive members in the field, are vital.
The aim of this particular workshop is to enhance the direct exchange of scientific information among the younger members of the community (graduate students, postdocs and junior faculty), both from the experiment and theory. Participation in the workshop will be by invitation only - in order to strengthen the emphasis on younger members of the community, participation will be restricted to people who have obtained their Ph.D. no earlier than 1989.
This particular approach makes the workshop unique among the various workshops and conferences in the field. For young scientists it represents an opportunity for exchange and exposure that that they would not have in one of the major big conferences. It will help to stimulate the next generation of the field and strengthen their sense of community.
