Review on Heavy-Ion Physics

TL;DR

This review discusses the production and properties of high-energy-density strongly-interacting matter created in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions, summarizing experimental findings from CERN-SPS and BNL-RHIC, and exploring future prospects at CERN-LHC.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of experimental results and theoretical expectations for hot and dense QCD matter from past and upcoming heavy-ion collision experiments.

Findings

Evidence of quark-gluon plasma formation at CERN-SPS and BNL-RHIC

Properties of hot dense matter inferred from experimental data

Future outlook for heavy-ion physics at CERN-LHC

Abstract

Collisions of heavy ions (nuclei) at ultra-relativistic energies (sqrt(s_NN) >> 10 GeV per nucleon-nucleon collision in the centre of mass system) are regarded as a unique tool to produce in the laboratory a high energy density and high temperature state of strongly-interacting matter. In this short review, we will discuss the expected features of this hot and dense state, describe indications on its properties emerged from the experimental programs at the CERN-SPS and BNL-RHIC accelerators, and finally outlook the perspectives for the forthcoming heavy-ion runs at the CERN-LHC.