Research Projects 2006-07

The lore in electromagnetic radiation from hot hadronic matter is that the emission spectrum is nowhere near blackbody. That is, estimates indicate that it would take several hundred fm/c to relax toward blackbody. We are currently solving the rate equations with a temperature dependent emission term (rather than a constant) and exploring the consequences of this. Models for EM emission could be impacted by the results of this study.

Thermal wavelengths for quarks in a fireball are several times greater than their interparticle spacing. This suggests that quantum effects might be quite important. We are examinging the possibility that degeneracy pressure effects could be responsible for much of the early flow buildup in an emerging quark-gluon plasma.

Photons and dileptons are well-established probes of heavy ion (nuclear) reaction dynamics. Diphotons have not been studied as completely and so we are exploring quark-driven mechanics as well as hadron-driven mechanics to generate diphotons. The thermal rate for producing diphotons is explored in the QGP as well as in hot hadronic matter.