Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions: Viscous Hydrodynamic Simulations and Final State Interactions Matthew W. Luzum Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Gerald A. Miller Department of Physics In this dissertation I introduce relativistic heavy ion collisions and describe theoretical approaches to understanding them—in particular, viscous hydrodynamic simulations and investigations of fin...

A multiphase transport (AMPT) model that includes both initial partonic and nal hadron rescattering effects in relativistic heavy ion collisions is brie y reviewed. Particular attention is given to the scattering processes in the hadronic phase in order to address resonances production in these collisions. As an example, phi meson production is discussed in detail through both its dikaon and di...

We attempt to explain the Λ̄/p̄ ratios measured in heavy ion collisions at 11.6 A · GeV/c beam momentum within a hadronic framework. This ratio is enhanced relative to corresponding ratios in pp collisions, and is large when compared with thermal fits to heavy ion data. Using a detailed cascade calculation, we show that different annihilation cross–sections of Λ̄’s and p̄’s, and the net conversion ...

We suggest using net-baryon rapidity distributions in central relativistic heavy-ion collisions at energies reached at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron, BNL Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC), and CERN LHC in order to probe saturation physics. Within the color glass condensate framework based on small-coupling QCD, net-baryon rapidity distributions are shown to exhibit geometric scaling. I...

The method of equivalent quanta is applied both to photon-photon and, by analogy, to double pomeron exchange in heavy-ion collisions. This WeizsäckerWilliams approach is used to calculate production cross sections for the glueball candidate fJ(1710) meson via photon-photon and pomeron-pomeron fusion in peripheral heavy-ion collisions at both RHIC and LHC energies. The impact-parameter dependenc...

We report on STAR analyses of p−Λ, p̄−Λ̄, p−Λ̄, p̄−Λ, p−p̄ and π−Ξ correlations in Au+Au collisions at √ sNN = 62 and 200 GeV. Measured source sizes in p(p̄)−Λ(Λ̄) and p−p̄ are shown to be in qualitative agreement with flow expectations. Interaction potential between p−Λ̄, p̄−Λ was investigated by measuring scattering length, thus showing that correlation analyses in heavy-ion collisions can be used to s...

Here is a basic question: What is the (local) thermalization time for quarkgluon plasmas (QGPs) in heavy ion collisions? That’s a difficult question, so let’s ask a simpler one: What is it for arbitrarily high energy collisions, where the running coupling constant is small, αs ≪ 1? Even that turns out to be complicated, so let me focus on an even simpler version, first posed by Baier, Mueller, ...

We report on STAR analyses of p−Λ, p̄−Λ̄, p−Λ̄, p̄−Λ, p−p̄ and π−Ξ correlations in Au+Au collisions at √ sNN = 62 and 200 GeV. Measured source sizes in p(p̄)−Λ(Λ̄) and p−p̄ are shown to be in qualitative agreement with flow expectations. Interaction potential between p−Λ̄, p̄−Λ was investigated by measuring scattering length, thus showing that correlation analyses in heavy-ion collisions can be used to s...

With the measurement of several observables at SPS energies that demonstrate non-monotonic behavior as a function of centrality and √ sNN , there is growing interest in pursuing a scan of relativistic heavy ion collisions at low energies at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The capabilities of the PHENIX experiment to take quality measurements at low RHIC energies is described and directly d...

Combining results on single-particle distributions with those of the Bose-Einstein correlation analysis in the same experiment, the space-time emission function is extracted as a function of time and longitudinal coordinate, as well as a function of transverse coordinates. While the former function resembles a boomerang for both types of collision (only shifted in the time direction due to the ...