Dr. Farid Salazar, UCLA

 

Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) is the theory governing the interactions of the fundamental constituents of nuclear matter: quarks and gluons, collectively known as partons. Over the last decades, several colliders and fixed target experiments have provided a window to understand how partons are distributed and interact inside protons and neutrons. While we know that gluons proliferate and dominate the content of nuclear matter at high energies, we expect that this growth is eventually tamed by nonlinear QCD dynamics resulting in gluon saturation. The discovery and characterization of gluon saturation are among the principal goals of the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) and upcoming upgrades of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

 

In this colloquium, I will present a semi-classical effective theory of QCD for this novel regime of gluon-dominated matter known as the Color Glass Condensate (CGC). I will introduce the basic principles and theoretical formalism underpinning the CGC and review the present status of searching for its signatures in collider experiments. I will also discuss recent theoretical developments and challenges as we approach the CGC precision era. I will emphasize the consequences of quantum corrections to the semi-classical framework.