QUARK-GLUON PLASMA, HEAVY ION COLLISIONS AND HADRONS

This third book on Quark-Gluon plasma and heavy ion collisions follows the previous ones, published in 1988 and 2005, that described theoretical proposals for a large program, and then the QGP discovery at RHIC.

The present one describes the rather mature field, with extensive program at RHIC and LHC colliders and corresponding theory. QGP turns out to be a strongly coupled medium made up of quarks and gluons, existing in exploding fireballs. It is the hottest form of matter created in a laboratory. Other subjects discussed in the book are QCD vacuum structure, including topological solitons and nonperturbative phenomena. It also includes some recent progress in theory of hadrons, bridging hadronic spectroscopy with partonic observables.

Contents:
PrefaceQuark-Gluon Plasma:IntroductionIntroduction to Quantum ChromodynamicsPerturbative Theory of Cold/Hot QGPHadronic MatterQfts at Finite TemperaturesQfts at Finite TemperaturesEvent-By-Event Fluctuations and Searches for the QCD Critical PointHeavy Ion Collisions:Heavy Ion CollisionsChemical Freeze-Out and the Composition of SecondariesKinetic Freeze-OutRelativistic Hydrodynamics and High-Energy CollisionsElliptic and Directed FlowsHigher Flow Harmonics and SoundsSounds in the Big BangFemtoscopyVorticity of the Fireball and Hadronic PolarizationsMatter at High Baryon DensityModels of the Initial StageThe Penetrating ProbesHeavy Quarks and 'JETS' Interacting With MatterThe Smallest Drops of the SQGPHolographic Models of Strongly Coupled QGPWhat have we Learned About Hot QCD Matter?Nonperturbative QCD and Hadrons:Instantons, Sphalerons and Other Chiral EffectsConfinement, Magnetic Monopoles and the Electric–Magnetic DualityHadronic SpectroscopyHadrons and Their High-Energy CollisionsSemiclassical Theory of Deconfinement and Chiral Phase TransitionsFrom Hadronic Spectroscopy on the Light Front to Partonic ObservablesHolographic Models of QCDSummary and DiscussionBibliographyIndex
Readership: Researchers in nuclear and particle physics, including graduate students and postdocs.

Key Features: A comprehensive monograph introducing theory of strong interactions, Quantum Chromodynamics, in its most fascinating aspects. It can be useful both for participants in the field, as well as young researches who would like to get exposed to ideas, discoveries and corresponding theoretical toolbox