Research in the domain "Elementary Matter" at ITP

 

Modelling Heavy Ion Collisions

Nuclear collisions at high energy provide unique insights into the properties of strongly interacting elementary matter. ITP has a successful long-standing tradition to study the complex many-body dynamics of such collisions, using methods from classical and quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, transport theory, and quantum field theory. The employed models include Relativistic Hydrodynamics and Quantum Molecular Dynamics (UrQMD). Major goals are the unraveling of the equation of state of nuclear matter and the study of the properties of hadrons inside a medium of hot and dense matter.

 

The Phases of Strongly Interacting Matter

The properties of strongly interacting matter under extreme conditions, believed to be governed by the theory of Quantum Chromo Dynamics (QCD), are still largely unknown. At high temperatures – accessible in heavy ion collisions – QCD predicts a phase transition from ordinary matter to the Quark-Gluon-Plasma, where the elementary constituents become unconfined. In addition, at high densities and low temperatures the phenomenon of Color Superconductivity is predicted where a condensate of quark pairs is formed, in analogy to the Cooper pairs of electrons in ordinary superconductivity. This phase may be realized in the interior of compact stars.

 

Nuclear Structure Theory

Deducing the static properties of atomic nuclei, like masses, deformations and excitation energy spectra, from the underlying interactions between nucleons is a challenge for theory. The nuclear structure group at ITP employs various models like Skyrme-Hartree-Fock or Relativistic Meson Field Theory to predict the properties of exotic nuclei (neutron-rich, superheavy). Nuclear reactions are treated in the Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) formalism.

 

Theorists at ITP closely collaborate with their experimental colleagues working at major accelerator centers like GSI (Darmstadt), CERN-LHC, RHIC (Brookhaven) and are closely involved in the preparations for the future FAIR collider facility within the program “HIC for FAIR”.

For further information see:

Carsten Greiner

Joachim Maruhn

Dirk Rischke

Horst Stöcker

 

 

 

 

 

 

geändert am 09. Mai 2011  E-Mail: Webmastersteidl@th.physik.uni-frankfurt.de

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