Investigation of nucleus-nucleus collisions at ultra-relativistic energies and development of instrumentation for high energy physics

Abstract

This project has as its primary goal the continuation of the on-going collaboration LIP-BNL between the 'Laboratório de Instrumentação e Partículas' (LIP) of the University of São Paulo, the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), and the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), in (i) the study of nucleus-nucleus collisions at ultra-relativistic energies (Project PHENIX-BNL), and (ii) the development of instrumentation for high energy physics (Project PHENIX-BNL and Project ATLAS-BNL/CERN). The studies of nucleus-nucleus collisions at ultra-relativistic energies - an extension to considerably higher energies of the studies done at AGS energies by experiments such as E814 and E877, of which the LIP group was a member - will be conducted with the large detector of Project PHENIX installed at one of the crossing points of BNL's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The primary goal of the PHENIX collaboration is the detection and characterization of the quark-gluon plasma through the detection of photons, hadrons and lepton pairs using the PHENIX detector, designed as a high rate detector covering a selective acceptance. Physics topics include searches for Quark-Gluon Plasma signals through light vector meson production, inclusive particle spectra, J/u suppression, Hanbury-Brown-Twiss source size measurements and particle multiplicity vs. energy density. The instrumentation development includes (a) Time Expansion Chambers for Project PHENIX; (b) Liquid Argon electromagnetic ionization calorimeters for Project ATLAS; (c) Signal processing systems for electronic detectors in a high rate environment for Projects PHENIX (TEC Chambers) and Project ATLAS (EM Barrel Calorimeter). Scientific and development activities for the period 2000-2003 include: (1) participation of LIP members in tests and physics runs with RHIC at BNL, and in test runs with the SPS accelerator at CERN; (2) set-up of a test station for the front-end electronics of the TEC chambers and the LAr calorimeters; (3) software development and data analysis in São Paulo for both projects. (AU)