Probing the QCD phase structure with heavy quarks (C05)

• Subject Area: Nuclear and Elementary Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Relativity, Fields
• Term: from 2016 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 273811115

The question of how the high-temperature phase of strongly interacting matter, the quark gluon plasma, transitions into the hadronic phase at the pseudo-critical temperature is a central motivation of heavy-ion collider experiments at the RHIC and LHC facilities. This project aims to shed light on the process of hadronization. We do this within the framework of the hadron resonance gas model to study interactions between light flavour hadrons, to understand the formation of loosely bound (anti-)(hyper-)nuclei, and to study formation of hadrons with open and hidden heavy flavour. Using data on quarkonium and heavy quark production and Drell-Yan dilepton production in pA and AA collisions, the influence of nuclear structure of parton distributions will be studied and nuclear PDFs will be determined.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1225: Isolated quantum systems and universality in extreme conditions (ISOQUANT)
• International Connection: Norway
• Applicant Institution: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Peter Braun-Munzinger; Professor Dr. Michael Klasen; Professor Dr. Alexander Karl Rothkopf, until 6/2020; Professorin Dr. Johanna Stachel