Our research involves the study of the production and properties of the quark – gluon plasma (QGP). In this form of matter the individual protons and neutrons dissolve into their constituent quarks and gluons, which are briefly free to roam over the entire nuclear volume instead of being confined to individual nucleons. This transient state of matter occurs when an atomic nucleus is heated and compressed to a point where the energy density exceeds approximately 1 GeV/fm3. The QGP can be produced in the head-on collision of 2 beams of Au nuclei, each with an energy of ~100 GeV/nucleon. These beams are now available at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Our experiments are carried out in close collaboration with members of the Purdue High Energy Nuclear Physics Group. We are all members of the STAR collaboration, which is one of the major experiments at RHIC. It is believed that all matter in the Universe was in the form of QGP during the first few microseconds following the Big Bang and this is one of the first attempts to fleetingly recreate this state.

The STAR detector

Education

Recognitions

• Visiting Senior Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1992
• Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Senior Scientist Award, Marburg University, 1981-1982
• Frank D. Martin Undergraduate Teaching Award, 1977
• Guggenheim Fellow, University of Paris, 1971-1972
• Fellow of the Society for the Promotion of Science in Japan, 1961

Selected Publications

• J. Adams et al., Open Charm Yields in d + Au Collisions at square root (s sub NN) = 200 GeV. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2005 , 94, 062301-1-6.
• Adams J. et al., Photon and neutral pion production in Au+Au collisions at square root s sub NN = 130 GeV. Phys. Rev. C 2004 , 70, 044902-1-12.
• Adams J. et al., Measurements of transverse energy distributions in Au+Au collisions at square root s sub NN = 200 GeV. Phys. Rev. C 2004 , 70, 054907-1-14.