In the first few microseconds after its birth the Universe was filled with  an interacting quark-gluon plasma (QGP) ruled by the strong nuclear force  (Quantun Chromodynamics = QCD). After ~10 microseconds, at a temperature of  ~10^12 Kelvin, the QGP transformed into hadrons, involving the fundamental phenomena of quark confinement and the generation of more than 95% of the  visible mass in today's Universe. 

 We first introduce theoretical concepts and phenomena of the strong force in  vacuum, including the notion of quark and gluon condensates. We then discuss  the opportunities and challenges in studying the phases of strongly interacting matter in the laboratory through high-energy collisions of heavy nuclei. In  particular, we discuss three layers of spectral analysis to reveal the  properties of the produced QCD medium:

Momentum spectra of light hadrons observed in the final state, signalling local thermalization in an explosively expanding fireball; electromagnetic  emission spectra illuminating the problem of mass generation; and the  production of heavy quarkonia probing the occurence of deconfinement. 

个人简介：Prof. Ralf Rapp received his MS in Physics from University of Bonn in 1993 and Ph.D. in Theoretical Nuclear/Hadron Physics in 1996. He did post-doc at Research Center Julich in 1996 and SUNY at Stony Brook in 1996-1999. He joined Texas A&M University (College Station) as assistant professor in 2003-2006, associate professor in 2006-2010, and full professor since 2010. Prof. Rapp received Feodor-Lynen Fellowship in 1996-1999, CAREER Award from NSF (2004), Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award from Humboldt Foundation in 2007, and Robert S. Hyer Award from the Texas Section of APS in 2009. He became a Follow of APS in 2014.