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Jim Drachenberg working on the PHENIX detector.
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PHENIX, the Pioneering High Energy Nuclear Interaction Experiment, is located at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, New York. 430 scientists and engineers from around the world are collaborating in this experiment. The primary objective of PHENIX is to discover and study an exciting new state of matter called the quark-gluon plasma. Other important goals include learning where the proton gets its spin and studying matter under extreme temperatures and pressures.
In 2001, PHENIX utilized the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven to slam the nuclei of gold atoms together at velocities close to that of light. In these experiments, which produced temperatures reaching trillions of degrees, physicists saw important indications that a quark-gluon plasma may have been created. More information is needed, but the collaborators are very excited about their early results.
Thirteen ACU students participated at BNL on the wire winding, testing, cleaning, and installation of the chambers for the north and south muon detector arms during the summers of 2001 and 2002. They also aligned, tested, and installed light sources and mounts for the fiber-optic alignment system, as well as routed cables and helped install the muon tracking dry-air system. Since the muon arms were recently completed, students are beginning to focus more on data analysis, and there are many opportunities for new students to get involved in this ground-breaking experiment.
Link to recent PHENIX paper with nine ACU undergraduates listed as co-authors!
BNL web page
RHIC web page
PHENIX web page
