Elementary matter
High Energy Physics at ITP
The central research focus of theoretical high energy physics at the ITP is the study of strongly interacting matter under extreme conditions of temperature and density. Such conditions can be produced in heavy ion collisions at particle accelerators such as the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). In the cosmos, these conditions appear in the merger of neutron stars or black holes, where the emission of a strong gravitational wave signal contains signatures of high energy phenomena. The long term goal is to acquire an in depth understanding of the interplay between dynamic and thermodynamic properties of quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the fundamental theory of the strong force, and especially the QCD-phase diagram.
To undertake these investigations, a variety of methods are being employed: analysis via lattice gauge theory directly based on QCD (Philipsen, Wagner), effective low energy theories of the strong force, studied with the help of functional renormalization groups (Rischke), quantum field theory in non-equilibrium (Greiner, Philipsen), transport theory for the simulation of the dynamics of heavy ion collisions (Bleicher, Greiner, Elfner, Stöcker), hydrodynamics for heavy ion collision (Elfner, Rischke) and magnetohydrodynamics in the merger of neutron stars and black holes, and the appearance of gravitational waves (Rezzolla, Sagunski).
More information about the various research areas can be found on the websites of the corresponding work-groups.
Professors
Apl. Professors
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Nuclear astrophysics and cosmology |
Emeritus Professors
: Plasma physics
At FIAS:
Professors
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Dynamic description of Heavy-ion collisions
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