Heavy Ion Physics at the LHC with the ATLAS Detector

Understand

The ATLAS detector at CERN will provide a high-resolution longitudinally-segmented calorimeter and precision tracking for the upcoming study of heavy ion collisions at the LHC (sqrt(s_NN)=5520 GeV).

• The calorimeter covers |eta|<5 with both electromagnetic and hadronic sections, while the inner detector spectrometer covers |eta|<2.5.
• ATLAS will study a full range of observables necessary to characterize the hot and dense matter formed at the LHC.
• Global measurements (particle multiplicities, collective flow) will provide access into its thermodynamic and hydrodynamic properties.