This research aims to understand the exciting array of experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Geneva and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) in New York. Two particle correlation measurements and related fluctuation studies can reveal space-time information about particle production and dynamics not measured by single particle observables. The activity supported by this award centers on an innovative program to develop theoretical tools for the analysis of correlations in a hydrodynamic context. Applications of this framework to transverse-momentum fluctuation data already provide a first estimate of the shear viscosity.
RHIC experiments exhibit a striking "ridge" of enhanced correlations that has garnered substantial interest. This ridge occurs both with and without a jet trigger, and is part of a rich correlation landscape. We propose to apply our hydrodynamic framework to understand this landscape at RHIC and LHC. These efforts promise to reveal information on both early stages of particle production - the glasma - as well as the later period of hydrodynamic evolution. This and similar work is driven by data analyzed at Wayne State. Close collaboration with these experimenters puts this theory group in an excellent position to understand and influence such analyses.
The colliders RHIC and LHC smash nuclei together, producing a tiny fleeting soup of elementary particles called the quark-gluon plasma. By studying the fluid characteristics of this plasma using mathematical models, we hope to explain what is seen at these massive colliders. I'm especially excited to be sharing this research with disadvantaged students in Detroit through a program aimed at students who are studying to become teachers.
