Strongly Interacting Matter under Extreme Conditions

Abstract

Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the fundamental theory describing strong nuclear force. Despite its precise mathematical definition, much remains unknown regarding the properties of strongly interacting QCD matter in the non-perturbative regime. One of the key open questions is the phase structure of QCD and the nature of the transition between ordinary hadronic matter and the deconfined state of quark-gluon plasma (QGP) taking place at extreme temperatures in excess of trillions of Kelvin. This talk will cover how properties of strongly interacting matter can be studied in laboratory, through ultrarelativistic collisions of heavy ions. A particular emphasis is put on the search for the QCD critical point on the phase diagram separating ordinary matter and QGP. I will discuss the constraints on the QCD critical point coming from recent theoretical approaches, data from Au-Au collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider in Brookhaven and future perspectives

Speaker Bio

Volodymyr Vovchenko performed his undergraduate studies and Master’s degree at Taras Shevchenko National University, Kyiv, Ukraine, and moved for his Ph.D. to Goethe University Frankfurt where he obtained a Ph.D. summa cum laude on the quantum van der Waals equation and its QCD applications. He received several awards both in Ukraine and Germany, including the Prize of the Association of Friends and Sponsors of Goethe University for Young Scientists for best dissertation in natural sciences. After a research associate position at Goethe University Frankfurt, he went to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory with a Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt foundation, and later held Research Assistant Professorship at the Institute for Nuclear Theory, University of Washington, Seattle, USA. In December 2022 he joined the University of Houston, USA, as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Physics. Dr. Vovchenko’s expertise lies in high-energy nuclear theory. His research mainly focuses on the properties of hot and dense strongly interacting quantum chromodynamics (QCD) matter under extreme conditions, in particular, the transition between ordinary hadronic matter and the deconfined Quark-Gluon-Plasma (QGP). In his research, Dr. Vovchenko applies methods of statistical mechanics, relativistic hydrodynamics, and transport theory. He is also interested in scientific computing and visualization.