Soren P Sorensen

Chancellor's Professor Emeritus

RELATIVISTIC HEAVY ION PHYSICS

The research interests of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Physics group at University of Tennessee are focused on heavy ion collisions at ultrarelativistic energies, which is an exciting field on the borderline between nuclear and high energy physics. Over the last three decades our group has primarily studied the following topics:

• Nuclear Matter at Extreme Temperatures and Densities: We are investigating the properties of nuclear matter at high densities and temperatures with special emphasis on characterizing the properties of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP), which is a novel phase of nuclear matter where quarks and gluons are deconfined over a large volume.
• Modification of Vector Meson Properties in Hot and Dense Nuclear Matter: Among the many signatures for the QGP, we have studied the modifications of the properties of vector mesons produced in the QGP. We have specifically been studying the production of the J/psi and the Upsilon resonances using the PHENIX muon detector.
• Nuclear Stopping Power and Attained Energy Densities: The most important prerequisite for the creation of the QGP in ultra-relativistic heavy ion reactions is a large nuclear stopping power so that sufficiently high energy densities will be achieved in the central fireball. We have studied the stopping power and attained energy densities of the QGP through calorimetric measurements in the WA80/WA93/WA98 and PHENIX collaborations, through studies of identified particle momentum spectra in the ALICE collaboration, and through slow proton emission in the target fragmentation region at E910.
• Jet production: Jets are high momentum showers of particles. When created within the QGP the jet properties will be modified through the interactions with the hot and dense medium thereby providing information on the properties of the medium. These studies have been performed within the ALICE collaborations and in the future (without my active participation after my retirement) in the sPHENIX collaboration.
   

Brief Vita