Heavy Ion Physics Prospects with the ATLAS Detector at the LHC

TL;DR

The paper discusses the potential of the ATLAS detector at the LHC to advance heavy ion physics by studying QCD matter under extreme conditions, focusing on jet and photon measurements in Pb+Pb collisions.

Contribution

It highlights the suitability and performance of the ATLAS detector for heavy ion collision studies, especially in jet and photon measurements, expanding its research scope beyond high-pT p+p collisions.

Findings

ATLAS detector performs well in Pb+Pb collision measurements.

Excellent capabilities for photon and jet detection.

Potential to explore QCD matter at extreme conditions.

Abstract

The next great energy frontier in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions is quickly approaching with the completion of the Large Hadron Collider and the ATLAS experiment is poised to make important contributions in understanding QCD matter at extreme conditions. While designed for high-pT measurements in high-energy p+p collisions, the detector is well suited to study many aspects of heavy ion collisions from bulk phenomena to high-pT and heavy flavor physics. With its large and finely segmented electromagnetic and hadronic calorimeters, the ATLAS detector excels in measurements of photons and jets, observables of great interest at the LHC. In this talk, we highlight the performance of the ATLAS detector for Pb+Pb collisions at the LHC with special emphasis on a key feature of the ATLAS physics program: jet and direct photon measurements.