Ramanujan Auditorium

A Golden Age in High Energy Nuclear Physics

Rob Pisarski

Brookhaven National Laboratory

I briefly review the modern theory of strong interactions, Quantum
ChromoDynamics, and why we believe that a qualtiatively new state of
matter, a Quark-Gluon Plasma, is created in the collisions of heavy ions
at very high energies. I discuss, in particular, why it may be the most
"ideal" liquid on earth, and the phenomenon of jet quenching. I conclude
by discussing what happens when one goes down in energy, and how that may
probe qualitatively new states, including a Critical End-Point and Quantum
Pion Liquids.