ICTS

The phase diagram of QCD is an object of intense theoretical interest today, since it is the only phase diagram in a relativistic quantum field theory which is open to experimental probes. In this connection, the Beam Energy Scan (BES) program at the RHIC in BNL is being watched with great interest by an extensive community of physicists interested in the strong interactions and nuclear matter. The BES will scan through a line in the phase diagram of QCD which passes very close to current lattice predictions for the location of the critical point of QCD. If the experiments are successful in locating the critical point of QCD, then this will be the first phase transition detected experimentally in relativistic quantum field theories, and will have enormous implications in many related fields.

This topical discussion meeting, being organized as a satellite meeting of the ICTS program WHEPP XII, is a response to the enormous interest in this problem nationally and internationally. India has a large community of people who are currently at work on this problem: in the STAR experiment at RHIC, the ALICE experiment at the LHC and in lattice gauge theory. The community includes a large number of students, and their active hands on participation in the discussion and analysis will be of importance to the field. At the same time the presence of international experts in this field will strengthen the discussions.