QCD Phenomenology  

In General > s.a. history of particle physics; QCD [vacuum, gluons, finite temperature]; QCD effects [confinement, quark nuggets, etc].
* Idea: The main strength of QCD is its general structure; It has had many qualitative confirmations but (few quantitative ones since few calculations can be analytically done), and reinforces the belief that elegance and uniqueness are criteria for truth; 2002, Numerical lattice simulations are almost able to make new predictions.
* Experimental evidence: (1) Results from deep inelastic scattering (in the 1960s at SLAC); (2) The behavior of the ratio R of the hadronic cross section over the μ-pair production cross section in e+e annihilations; (3) J/ψ spectroscopy; (4) 1979, Discovery of gluons at DESY by TASSO and other experiments at the PETRA collider.
* Features: Fragmentation and Jets (> see Feynman-Fields Model); Monte Carlo simulation of interactions, using the Lund model.
* Force: Because of confinement, quark behavior can be modeled by a growing potential, e.g., like a spring.
@ General references: Potvin AS(91); Dzierba et al AS(00); Wilczek hp/02-proc, AHP(03)phy/02; Klempt & Zaitsev PRP(07) [glueballs, hybrids, multiquarks]; Hayes AS(08) [numerical results]; Brodsky a1010-conf [topics challenging conventional wisdom]; Satz IJMPA(13) [observables calculable in QCD and measurable in heavy-ion collisions]; Glozman IJMPA-a1907 [phases].
@ High-energy scattering: Munier PRP(09) [and statistical physics]; Stasto MPLA(11) [rev].
@ Astrophysics: Haskell et al PRL(07)-a0708 [constraints on neutron stars with crystalline colour superconducting cores from LIGO]; Jaffe et al PRD(09) + Perez Phy(09) [worlds with different quark masses]; Xu a1507-proc [strange matter].
@ Cosmology: Florkowski NPA(11)-a1008 [equation of state, and the early universe]; Berera et al a1508 [network of linked flux tubes and inflation]; Borsanyi et al a1606 [lattice QCD, equation of state and topological susceptibility].
@ Related topics: Lakhina & Swanson PLB(04) [gluonic van der Waals force]; Chandrasekharan & Strouthos PRL(05) [mean-field theory, failure for large N]; Cho et al ht/05 [effective potential]; Sorella BJP(06)ht/05-conf [gluon dynamical mass]; Acharya ht/06 [mass gap]; Ali & Kramer EPJH(11)-a1012 [jets]; Skands a1104-ln [and collider physics];.
> Related topics: see Glueballs; hadrons [including quarks]; Large-N Limit; Pomeron; thermodynamics.

Quark-Gluon Plasma [term introduced in the late 1970s by Edward Shuryak] > s.a. quantum-gravity phenomenology.
* Idea: A hypothetical hot, dense soup of single quarks and gluons obtained at Tc ~ 100–200 MeV/nucleon, last believed to exist naturally in the first millionth of a second after the Big Bang; Subsequently, as the universe expanded and cooled, quarks assembled into mesons and baryons, held together by gluons.
* 2000: Experiment at CERN claims to have produced it, but probably premature.
* 2001: The four detector groups at RHIC (BRAHMS, PHENIX, PHOBOS, and STAR) talk about indications.
* 2004: Many say that Brookhaven's RHIC has "overwhelming" indications, but lab refuses to officially announce.
* 2005: Brookhaven results puzzling (events too explosive), and the consensus interpretation is that the fireball is a (classical) liquid of strongly interacting quarks and gluons, rather than a gas of weakly interacting quarks and gluons [@ news pn(05)apr].
* 2005: BNL's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) produces more evidence for quark-gluon plasma [@ news pn(06)apr].
@ News: Collins & Reichert SA(00)mar [from CERN]; Quercigh & Rafelski pw(00)oct; news pw(10)sep [signal at LHC?]; news pw(11)jun [temperature]; news pw(12)jan [copper-copper collisions at RHIC].
@ Books: Letessier & Rafelski 02; Yagi et al 06; Satz 12.
@ General references: Antonov PLB(02)ht [loop space formulation]; Balakin a0710-proc; Shuryak PPNP(09)-a0807 [strongly coupled]; Stephanov PRL(09) + Son Phy(09) [critical point]; Braun-Munzinger & Wambach RMP(09) [strongly interacting, phase diagram]; Shuryak Phy(10) [first results from the LHC]; Pratt PRL(12) [deconstructing the quark-gluon plasma].
@ Phenomenology: Davidson PhyE(10)-a0807 [as ideal classical fluid, and the early universe]; Petreczky Phy(12), Ollitrault Phy(15) [fluidlike properties]; Rafelski & Birrell JPCS(14)-a1311 [and the early universe]; > s.a. equation of state.

"A quark-gluon plasma is a bit like pea soup. There aren't any peas in it." – comment on virtual gluons in pw(12)oct post.


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