Exploring the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter; news from SPS and RHIC

摘要

Two experimental programs are aiming to study nuclear collisions in the energy regime 5 GeV <= root s(NN) <= 20 GeV in order to explore an essential part of the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter. The programs are motivated by observations that indicate a phase transition to take place in this energy domain: the onset of deconfinement. The STAR collaboration proposes an energy scan in the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at BNL. The ongoing program of the NA61/SHINE experiment consists of a two-dimensional energy-system size scan in nuclear and elementary collisions. The goal of both programs is to study the properties of the onset of deconfinement and to eventually discover the conjectured critical point of strongly interacting matter. A comparison of the strengths and limitations reveals the complementarity of the two programs.