Interactions News Wire #07-10
9 February 2010 http://www.interactions.org
*******************************************
Source: Brookhaven National Laboratory
Content: Media Advisory
Date Issued: 9 February 2010
*******************************************

New Findings on Hot Quark Soup Produced at RHIC: Scientists to present latest findings from heavy ion collisions at APS meeting Feb. 15

EVENT: Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), the world's largest particle accelerator dedicated to nuclear physics research, will present compelling new findings about the nature of the "perfect" liquid created in near-light-speed collisions of gold ions at RHIC.

WHEN: Monday, February 15, 2010, 9:30 a.m.

WHERE: The American Physical Society (APS) meeting, Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C., Press Room/Briefing Room, Park Tower 8222

DETAILS: The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) is a 2.4-mile-circumference particle accelerator/collider that has been operating at Brookhaven Lab since 2000, delivering collisions of heavy ions, protons, and other particles to an international team of physicists investigating the basic structure and fundamental forces of matter. In 2005, RHIC physicists announced that the matter created in RHIC's most energetic collisions behaves like a nearly "perfect" liquid in that it has extraordinarily low viscosity, or resistance to flow. Since then, the scientists have been taking a closer look at this remarkable form of matter, which last existed some 13 billion years ago, a mere fraction of a second after the Big Bang. At this press event, scientists will present new findings, including the first measurement of temperature very early in the collision events, and their implications for the nature of this early-universe matter.

EMBARGOED NEWS RELEASES: Two EMBARGOED news releases related to the research that will be presented at this news briefing are available to reporters on our password-protected website at the following links:

• 'Perfect' Liquid Hot Enough to be Quark Soup: Protons, neutrons melt to produce 'quark-gluon plasma' at RHIC
• 'Bubbles' of Broken Symmetry in Quark Soup at RHIC: Data suggest symmetry may 'melt' along with protons and neutrons

PLEASE NOTE: The news described in these releases is strictly embargoed until the time of the press conference. That means no organization may print, post, broadcast or publicly distribute stories about this research/announcement until AFTER Monday, February 15, 9:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time. For access prior to the embargo, please enter the case-sensitive password: BNLnews.

PHONE-IN OPTION: For reporters unable to attend the press briefing in person, we have arranged a call-in line: (800) 944-8766 / password 21425. If you experience problems, contact Jason Bardi (jbardi@aip.org, cell: 858-775-4080).

SCIENTIFIC TALKS: Following the press briefing, scientists will give technical talks on the nature of these measurements in APS sessions P7: "Mini-Symposium: Electromagnetic Radiation from Quark-Gluon Plasma" and Q7: "Mini-Symposium: Exotic Phenomena in High Energy Nuclear Collisions," beginning at 10:45 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively. Both sessions are in room Delaware A of the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE's Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by the Research Foundation of State University of New York on behalf of Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.

Visit Brookhaven Lab's electronic newsroom for links, news archives, graphics, and more: http://www.bnl.gov/newsroom

Media Contacts:

Karen McNulty Walsh
kmcnulty@bnl.gov
(631)344-8350

Mona Rowe
mrowe@bnl.gov
(631) 344-5056