WIDG (Weak Interaction Discussion Group) Talk: Eliane Epple, Yale Univesity, “Why we use direct photons and gamma-hadron correlations to study the hot and dense QCD medium”

Tuesday Mar 29, 2016, 12:00 PM → 1:00 PM US/Eastern

WLC 108

In this talk I will introduce a couple of observables we heavy ion physicists use to characterize the hot and dense medium created in Au+Au or Pb+Pb collisions. Based on these, I will show you how promising photons as a probe of the hot QCD medium are and I will stress the unique advantages these particles have. The measurements I will discuss contain direct photon yields and gamma-hadron correlations both from RHIC and the LHC. They give insight into how the created medium affects the particles traversing it and thus allow us to characterize its properties.