J. Adams, University of Birmingham
M.M. Aggarwal, Panjab University
Z. Ahammed, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre
J. Amonett, Kent State University
B.D. Anderson, Kent State University
D. Arkhipkin, Particle Physics Laboratory
G.S. Averichev, Laboratory for High Energy
S.K. Badyal, University of Jammu
Y. Bai, NIKHEF and Utrecht University
J. Balewski, Indiana University - Bloomington
O. Barannikova, Purdue University
L.S. Barnby, University of Birmingham
J. Baudot, Institut de Recherches Subatomiques
S. Bekele, Ohio State University - Main Campus
V.V. Belaga, Laboratory for High Energy
A. Bellingeri-Laurikainen, SUBATECH
R. Bellwied, Wayne State University
J. Berger, University of Frankfurt
B.I. Bezverkhny, Yale University
S. Bharadwaj, University of Rajasthan
A. Bhasin, University of Jammu
A.K. Bhati, Panjab University
V.S. Bhatia, Panjab University
H. Bichsel, University of Washington
J. Bielcik, Yale University
J. Bielcikova, Yale University
A. Billmeier, Wayne State University
L.C. Bland, Brookhaven National Laboratory
C.O. Blyth, University of Birmingham
B.E. Bonner, Rice University
M. Botje, NIKHEF and Utrecht University
A. Boucham, SUBATECH
J. Bouchet, SUBATECH
A.V. Brandin, Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (State University)
A. Bravar, Brookhaven National Laboratory
M. Bystersky, Nuclear Physics Institute AS CR
R.V. Cadman, Argonne National Laboratory
X.Z. Cai, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics
H. Caines, Yale University
M. Calderón de la Barca Sánchez, University of California, Davis
J. Castillo, NIKHEF and Utrecht University
O. Catu, Yale University
D. Cebra, University of California, Davis
Z. Chajecki, Ohio State University - Main Campus
P. Chaloupka, Nuclear Physics Institute AS CR
S. Chattopadhyay, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre
H.F. Chen, University of Science & Technology of China
Y. Chen, University of California, Los Angeles
J. Cheng, Tsinghua University
M. Cherney, Creighton University
A. Chikanian, Yale University
W. Christie, Brookhaven National Laboratory
J.P. Coffin, Institut de Recherches Subatomiques
T.M. Cormier, Wayne State University
J.G. Cramer, University of Washington
H.J. Crawford, University of California - Berkeley
D. Das, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre
S. Das, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre
M.M. de Moura, Universidade de Sao Paulo
T.G. Dedovich, Laboratory for High Energy
A.A. Derevschikov, Institute of High Energy Physics
L. Didenko, Brookhaven National Laboratory
T. Dietel, University of Frankfurt
S.M. Dogra, University of Jammu
W.J. Dong, University of California, Los Angeles
X. Dong, University of Science & Technology of China
J.E. Draper, University of California, Davis
F. Du, Yale University
A.K. Dubey, Institute of Physics
V.B. Dunin, Laboratory for High Energy
J.C. Dunlop, Brookhaven National Laboratory
M.R. Dutta Mazumdar, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre
V. Eckardt, Max-Planck-Institut fur Physik
W.R. Edwards, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
L.G. Efimov, Laboratory for High Energy
V. Emelianov, Moscow Engineering Physics Institute
J. Engelage, University of California - Berkeley
G. Eppley, Rice University
B. Erazmus, SUBATECH
M. Estienne, Institut de Recherches Subatomiques
P. Fachini, Brookhaven National Laboratory
J. Faivre, Institut de Recherches Subatomiques
R. Fatemi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
J. Fedorisin, Laboratory for High Energy
K. Filimonov, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
P. Filip, Particle Physics Laboratory
E. Finch, Yale University
V. Fine, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Y. Fisyak, Brookhaven National Laboratory
J. Fu, Tsinghua University
C.A. Gagliardi, Texas A&M University
L. Gaillard, University of Birmingham
J. Gans, Yale University
M.S. Ganti, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre
F. Geurts, Rice University
V. Ghazikhanian, University of California, Los Angeles
P. Ghosh, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre
J.E. Gonzalez, University of California, Los Angeles
H. Gos, Warsaw University of Technology
O. Grachov, Wayne State University
O. Grebenyuk, NIKHEF and Utrecht University
D. Grosnick, Valparaiso University
S.M. Guertin, University of California, Los Angeles
Y. Guo, Wayne State University
A. Gupta, University of Jammu
T.D. Gutierrez, University of California, DavisFollow
T.J. Hallman, Brookhaven National Laboratory
A. Hamed, Wayne State University
D. Hardtke, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
J.W. Harris, Yale University
M. Heinz, Yale University
T.W. Henry, Texas A&M University
S. Hepplemann, Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus
B. Hippolyte, Institut de Recherches Subatomiques
A. Hirsch, Purdue University
E. Hjort, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
G.W. Hoffmann, University of Texas at Austin
H.Z. Huang, University of California, Los Angeles
S.L. Huang, University of Science & Technology of China
E.W. Hughes, California Institute of Technology
T.J. Humanic, Ohio State University - Main Campus
G. Igo, University of California, Los Angeles
A. Ishihara, University of Texas at Austin
P. Jacobs, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
W.W. Jacobs, Indiana University - Bloomington
M. Jedynak, Warsaw University of Technology
H. Jiang, University of California, Los Angeles
P.G. Jones, University of Birmingham
E.G. Judd, University of California - Berkeley
S. Kabana, SUBATECH
K. Kang, Tsinghua University
M. Kaplan, Carnegie Mellon University
D. Keane, Kent State University
A. Kechechyan, Laboratory for High Energy
V.Yu. Khodyrev, Institute of High Energy Physics
J. Kiryluk, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
A. Kisiel, Warsaw University of Technology
E.M. Kislov, Laboratory for High Energy
J. Klay, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
S.R. Klein, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
D.D. Koetke, Valparaiso University
T. Kollegger, University of Frankfurt
M. Kopytine, Kent State University
L. Kotchenda, Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (State University)
M. Kramer, City College of New York
P. Kravtsov, Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (State University)
V.I. Kravtsov, Institute of High Energy Physics
K. Krueger, Argonne National Laboratory
C. Kuhn, Institut de Recherches Subatomiques
A.I. Kulikov, Laboratory for High Energy
A. Kumar, Panjab University
R. Kh. Kutuev, Particle Physics Laboratory (JINR)
A.A. Kuznetsov, Laboratory for High Energy
M.A.C. Lamont, Yale University
J.M. Landgraf, Brookhaven National Laboratory
S. Lange, University of Frankfurt
F. Laue, Brookhaven National Laboratory
J. Lauret, Brookhaven National Laboratory
A. Lebedev, Brookhaven National Laboratory
R. Lednicky, Particle Physics Laboratory
S. Lehocka, Laboratory for High Energy
M.J. LeVine, Brookhaven National Laboratory
C. Li, University of Science and Technology of China
Q. Li, Wayne State University
Y. Li, Tsinghua University
G. Lin, Yale University
S.J. Lindenbaum, City College of New York
M.A. Lisa, Ohio State University - Main Campus
F. Liu, Institute of Particle Physics, CCNU
H. Liu, University of Science and Technology of China
L. Liu, Institute of Particle Physics, CCNU
Q.J. Liu, University of Washington - Seattle Campus
Z. Liu, Institute of Particle Physics, CCNU
T. Ljubicic, Brookhaven National Laboratory
W.J. Llope, Rice University
H. Long, University of California, Los Angeles
R.S. Longacre, Brookhaven National Laboratory
M. Lopez-Noriega, Ohio State University - Main Campus
W.A. Love, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Y. Lu, Institute of Particle Physics, CCNU
T. Ludlam, Brookhaven National Laboratory
D. Lynn, Brookhaven National Laboratory
G.L. Ma, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics
J.G. Ma, University of California, Los Angeles
Y.G. Ma, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics
D. Magestro, Ohio State University - Main Campus
S. Mahajan, University of Jammu
D.P. Mahapatra, Institute of Physics
R. Majka, Yale University
L.K. Mangotra, University of Jammu
R. Manweiler, Valparaiso University
S. Margetis, Kent State University
C. Markert, Kent State University - Kent Campus
L. Martin, SUBATECH
J.N. Marx, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
H.S. Matis, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Yu.A. Matulenko, Institute of High Energy Physics
C.J. McClain, Argonne National Laboratory
T.S. McShane, Creighton University
F. Meissner, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Yu. Melnick, Institute of High Energy Physics
A. Meschanin, Institute of High Energy Physics
M.L. Miller, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
N.G. Minaev, Institute of High Energy Physics
C. Mironov, Kent State University
A. Mischke, NIKHEF and Utrecht University
D.K. Mishra, Institute of Physics
J. Mitchell, Rice University
B. Mohanty, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre
L. Molnar, Purdue University
C.F. Moore, University of Texas at Austin
D.A. Morozov, Institute of High Energy Physics
M.G. Munhoz, Universidade de Sao Paulo
B.K. Nandi, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
S.K. Nayak, University of Jammu
T.K. Nayak, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre
J.M. Nelson, University of Birmingham
P.K. Netrakanti, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre
V.A. Nikitin, Particle Physics Laboratory (JINR)
L.V. Nogach, Institute of High Energy Physics
S.B. Nurushev, Institute of High Energy Physics
G. Odyniec, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
A. Ogawa, Brookhaven National Laboratory
V. Okorokov, Moscow Engineering Physics Institute
M. Oldenburg, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
D. Olson, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
S.K. Pal, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre
Y. Panebratsev, Laboratory for High Energy
S.Y. Panitkin, Brookhaven National Laboratory
A.I. Pavlinov, Wayne State University
T. Pawlak, Warsaw University of Technology
T. Peitzmann, NIKHEF and Utrecht University
V. Perevoztchikov, Brookhaven National Laboratory
C. Perkins, University of California - Berkeley
W. Peryt, Warsaw University of Technology
V.A. Petrov, Wayne State University
S.C. Phatak, Institute of Physics
R. Picha, University of California, Davis
M. Planinic, University of Zagreb
J. Pluta, Warsaw University of Technology
N. Porile, Purdue University
J. Porter, University of Washington - Seattle Campus
A.M. Poskanzer, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
M. Potekhin, Brookhaven National Laboratory
E. Potrebenikova, Laboratory for High Energy
B.V.K.S. Potukuchi, University of Jammu
D. Prindle, University of Washington
C. Pruneau, Wayne State University
J. Putschke, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
G. Rakness, Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus
R. Raniwala, University of Rajasthan
S. Raniwala, University of Rajasthan
O. Ravel, SUBATECH
R.L. Ray, University of Texas at Austin
S.V. Razin, Laboratory for High Energy
D. Reichhold, Purdue University
J.G. Reid, University of Washington - Seattle Campus
J. Reinnarth, SUBATECH
G. Renault, SUBATECH
F. Retiere, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
A. Ridiger, Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (State University)
H.G. Ritter, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
J.B. Roberts, Rice University
O.V. Rogachevskiy, Laboratory for High Energy
J.L. Romero, University of California, Davis
A. Rose, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
C. Roy, SUBATECH
L. Ruan, University of Science & Technology of China
M.J. Russcher, NIKHEF and Utrecht University
R. Sahoo, Institute of Physics
I. Sakrejda, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
S. Salur, Yale University
J. Sandweiss, Yale University
M. Sarsour, Texas A&M University
I. Savin, Particle Physics Laboratory (JINR)
P.S. Sazhin, Laboratory for High Energy
J. Schambach, University of Texas at Austin
R.P. Scharenberg, Purdue University
N. Schmitz, Max-Planck-Institut fur Physik
J. Seger, Creighton University
P. Seyboth, Max-Planck-Institut fur Physik
E. Shahaliev, Laboratory for High Energy
M. Shao, University of Science & Technology of China
W. Shao, California Institute of Technology
M. Sharma, Panjab University
W.Q. Shen, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics
K.E. Shestermanov, Institute of High Energy Physics
S.S. Shimanskiy, Laboratory for High Energy
E. Sichtermann, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
F. Simon, Max-Planck-Institut für Physik
R.N. Singaraju, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre
N. Smirnov, Yale University
R. Snellings, NIKHEF and Utrecht University
G. Sood, Valparaiso University
P. Sorensen, Brookhaven National Laboratory
J. Sowinski, Indiana University - Bloomington
J. Speltz, Institut de Recherches Subatomiques
H.M. Spinka, Argonne National Laboratory
B. Srivastava, Purdue University
A. Stadnik, Laboratory for High Energy
T.D.S. Stanislaus, Valparaiso University
R. Stock, University of Frankfurt
A. Stolpovsky, Wayne State University
M. Strikhanov, Moscow Engineering Physics Institute
B. Stringfellow, Purdue University
A.A.P. Suaide, Universidade de Sao Paulo
E. Sugarbaker, Ohio State University - Main Campus
C. Suire, Brookhaven National Laboratory
M. Sumbera, Nuclear Physics Institute AS CR
B. Surrow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M. Swanger, Creighton University
T.J.M. Symons, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
A. Szanto de Toledo, Universidade de Sao Paulo
A. Tai, University of California, Los Angeles
J. Takahashi, Universidade de Sao Paulo
A.H. Tang, Brookhaven National Laboratory
T. Tarnowsky, Purdue University
D. Thein, University of California, Los Angeles
J.H. Thomas, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
S. Timoshenko, Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (State University)
M. Tokarev, Laboratory for High Energy
S. Trentalange, University of California - Los Angeles
R.E. Tribble, Texas A&M University
O.D. Tsai, University of California, Los Angeles
J. Ulery, Purdue University
T. Ullrich, Brookhaven National Laboratory
D.G. Underwood, Argonne National Laboratory
G. Van Buren, Brookhaven National Laboratory
M. van Leeuwen, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
A.M. Vander Molen, Michigan State University
R. Varma, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
I.M. Vasilevski, Particle Physics Laboratory
A.N. Vasiliev, Institute of High Energy Physics
R. Vernet, Institut de Recherches Subatomiques
S.E. Vigdor, Indiana University - Bloomington
Y.P. Viyogi, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre
S. Vokal, Laboratory for High Energy
S.A. Voloshin, Wayne State University
W.T. Waggoner, Creighton University
F. Wang, Purdue University
G. Wang, Kent State University
G. Wang, California Institute of Technology
X.L. Wang, University of Science & Technology of China
Y. Wang, University of Texas at Austin
Y. Wang, Tsinghua University
Z.M. Wang, University of Science & Technology of China
H. Ward, University of Texas at Austin
J.W. Watson, Kent State University
J.C. Webb, Indiana University - Bloomington
G.D. Westfall, Michigan State University
A. Wetzler, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
C. A. Whitten Jr., University of California - Los Angeles
H. Wieman, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
S.W. Wissink, Indiana University - Bloomington
R. Witt, Yale University
J. Wood, University of California, Los Angeles
J. Wu, University of Science & Technology of China
N. Xu, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Z. Xu, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Z.Z. Xu, University of Science & Technology of China
E. Yamamoto, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
P. Yepes, Rice University
V.I. Yurevich, Laboratory for High Energy
I. Zborovsky, Nuclear Physics Institute AS CR
H. Zhang, Brookhaven National Laboratory
W.M. Zhang, Kent State University
Y. Zhang, University of Science & Technology of China
Z.P. Zhang, University of Science & Technology of China
R. Zoulkarneev, Particle Physics Laboratory
Y. Zoulkarneeva, Particle Physics Laboratory
A.N. Zubarev, Laboratory for High Energy

Abstract

We review the most important experimental results from the first three years of nucleus–nucleus collision studies at RHIC, with emphasis on results from the STAR experiment, and we assess their interpretation and comparison to theory. The theory-experiment comparison suggests that central Au + Au collisions at RHIC produce dense, rapidly thermalizing matter characterized by: (1) initial energy densities above the critical values predicted by lattice QCD for establishment of a quark–gluon plasma (QGP); (2) nearly ideal fluid flow, marked by constituent interactions of very short mean free path, established most probably at a stage preceding hadron formation; and (3) opacity to jets. Many of the observations are consistent with models incorporating QGP formation in the early collision stages, and have not found ready explanation in a hadronic framework. However, the measurements themselves do not yet establish unequivocal evidence for a transition to this new form of matter. The theoretical treatment of the collision evolution, despite impressive successes, invokes a suite of distinct models, degrees of freedom and assumptions of as yet unknown quantitative consequence. We pose a set of important open questions, and suggest additional measurements, at least some of which should be addressed in order to establish a compelling basis to conclude definitively that thermalized, deconfined quark–gluon matter has been produced at RHIC.

Disciplines

Physics

Number of Pages

82

Publisher statement

NOTE: At the time of publication, the author Thomas Gutierrez was not yet affiliated with Cal Poly.

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URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/phy_fac/541