Probing the Quark Gluon Plasma with Jets

Collisions of heavy atomic nuclei at nearly the speed of light in the world´s largest particle accelerators are the subject of intense research because they are the only way of creating a Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) in the laboratory. The QGP is an exotic state of matter that consists of quarks and gluons - the fundamental building blocks of matter.

Theoretically, it is not fully understood how the QGP forms and what its properties are.

Answering these questions will lead to a deeper understanding of the theory of the so-called strong force, which governs the interactions of quarks and gluons.In my research I use jets to gain insight into these open questions. Jets are collimated sprays of particles caused by  highly energetic quarks and gluons.

When they traverse a QGP they start to thermalise and thereby lose energy. This so-called jet quenching can thus inform us about the processes leading to thermalisation and QGP formation.

It can also provide information about properties if the QGP that is complementary to what other types of observables can reveal.In this project I will improve the theoretical modeling of jet quenching by developing a new model based on my successful model JEWEL but including for the first time effects of colour coherence in an event genetator, i.e. a simulation tool that allows for a direct comparison of theoretical predictions to experimental data.

Doing these comparisons and suggesting new measurements is also an integral part of this project.