Physics

Heavy-Ion-Physics

Heavy-ion physics focuses on the study of collisions between heavy atomic nuclei at high energies, probing the fundamental properties of nuclear matter under extreme conditions. These collisions, typically conducted in particle accelerators, generate temperatures and densities high enough to create a quark-gluon plasma, a state of matter thought to have existed just after the Big Bang. By examining how this plasma forms and behaves, heavy-ion physics provides critical insights into the strong force, which binds quarks together within protons and neutrons.