GSI-FAIR Colloquium

Heavy-ion physics at the high-energy frontier

by Silvia Masciocchi (GSI & Heidelberg University)

Europe/Berlin
Main Lecture Hall (GSI)

Main Lecture Hall

GSI

Description
Collisions of heavy ions, accelerated to high energies, provide a tool to investigate the properties of strongly interacting matter under extreme conditions (in terms of temperature or nuclear density). This fascinating field of physics was initiated more than 40 years ago, with crucial contributions by researchers from GSI and the neighboring universities. Heavy-ion physics is today a very important pillar of the scientific program of GSI and FAIR, with groups participating in the experiments HADES at SIS, ALICE at the LHC, and preparing CBM at SIS100, in strong collaboration with the theory group. I entered the heavy-ion field by joining the ALICE group at GSI. The very high energy of the lead beams at the LHC allows to produce the hottest matter known to date, and create a plasma of quarks and gluons as it existed in the first microseconds after the Big Bang. I will give a glimpse of the great physics harvest from the first two LHC running periods, I will present the successful detector production just completed at GSI for the ALICE upgrade, and discuss the future perspectives of the field at the high-energy frontier.
Poster