Title:

Transport Properties of Strongly Interacting Quark Gluon Matter

Speaker:

Denes Molnar, Ohio State University

Abstract:

Transport properties of the plasma at RHIC
Data from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) indicate that a new
form of matter, the strongly-coupled quark-gluon plasma (sQGP), has been
created in the laboratory in collisions of energetic gold nuclei. The
produced relatively large and long-lived plasma droplets (R~10^-14 meters,
t ~10^-23 seconds) exhibit several remarkable phenomena, such as a highly
anisotropic collective expansion and strong attenuation of energetic
particles, indicating extreme densities (10-100 times that in ordinary
nuclei) and nearly perfect fluid behavior.
I will discuss recent developments in our theoretical understanding of the
collision dynamics, focusing mainly on covariant transport theory. Some of
the many unsolved puzzles and ways to further explore this new form of
matter will also be presented.


Regards,