Abstract
In the first three years of running, the four RHIC experiments have collected a rich set of high quality data on nuclear collisions over a wide range in collision energy and system size. The data allow a systematic study of the evolution of the collision system from the initial state to the final freeze-out of hadrons. The measurements show convincingly that in Au+Au collisions at the highest RHIC energies, a dense, interacting medium is formed early on. In this paper, some of the key measurements are described that have revealed the unique and sometimes unexpected properties of this medium.
PACS: 24.85.+p – 25.75.Nq
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Roland, G. Heavy-ion collisions at RHIC. Eur Phys J C 34 (Suppl 1), s269–s277 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjcd/s2004-04-025-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjcd/s2004-04-025-7