Evaluating Results from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider with Perturbative QCD and Hydrodynamics

TL;DR

This paper reviews how perturbative QCD and hydrodynamics are used to interpret experimental data from the RHIC, highlighting successes and remaining questions in understanding high-energy nuclear collisions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of theoretical approaches applied to RHIC data, emphasizing practical calculation methods and comparison with experimental results.

Findings

Perturbative QCD and hydrodynamics explain much of the RHIC data.

Jet quenching models successfully describe energy loss phenomena.

Open questions remain in the understanding of initial conditions and dissipative effects.

Abstract

We review the basic concepts of perturbative quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and relativistic hydrodynamics, and their applications to hadron production in high energy nuclear collisions. We discuss results from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) in light of these theoretical approaches. Perturbative QCD and hydrodynamics together explain a large amount of experimental data gathered during the first decade of RHIC running, although some questions remain open. We focus primarily on practical aspects of the calculations, covering basic topics like perturbation theory, initial state nuclear effects, jet quenching models, ideal hydrodynamics, dissipative corrections, freeze-out and initial conditions. We conclude by comparing key results from RHIC to calculations.