Knowledge on nuclear cluster physics has increased considerably since the pioneering discovery of 12C+12C resonances half a century ago and nuclear clustering remains one of the most fruitful domains of nuclear physics, facing some of the greatest challenges and opportunities in the years ahead. The occurrence of exotic shapes and/or Bose-Einstein alpha condensates in light N-Z alpha-conjugate nuclei is investigated. Evolution of clustering from stability to the drip-lines examined with clustering aspects persisting in light neutron-rich nuclei is consistent with the extension of the Ikeda-diagram to non alpha-conjugate nuclei.
The BRAHMS collaboration ended its data collection program in 2006. We are now well advanced in the analysis of a comprehensive set of data that spans systems ranging in mass from p+p to Au+Au and in energy from $sqrt{s_{NN}} = 62.4$ to 200 GeV. Our analysis has taken two distinct paths: we explore the rapidity dependence of intermediate and high-transverse-momentum, identified-particle production, thus helping to characterize the strongly-interacting quark-gluon plasma (sQGP) formed at RHIC; we also explore particle yields at lower transverse momentum to develop a systematic understanding of bulk particle production at RHIC energies.
We present selected recent results of multi-hadron correlation measurements in azimuth and pseudorapidity at intermediate and high pt{} in Au+Au collisions at $sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV, from the STAR experiment at RHIC. At intermediate pt, measurements are presented that attempt to determine the origin of the associated near-side (small dphi) yield at large pseudo-rapidity difference deta{} that is found to be present in heavy ion collisions. In addition, results are reported on new multi-hadron correlation measures at high-pt{} that use di-hadron triggers and multi-hadron cluster triggers with the goal to constrain the underlying jet kinematics better than in the existing measurements of inclusive spectra and di-hadron correlations.
In these proceedings, we report on the production of various open heavy-flavor hadrons and quarkonia in Au+Au collisions at sNN = 200GeV from the STAR experiment.
Results from the Beam Energy Scan (BES) program conducted recently by STAR experiment at RHIC are presented. The data from Phase-I of the BES program collected in Au+Au collisions at center-of-mass energies (sqrt{s_{NN}}) of 7.7, 11.5, 19.6, 27, and 39 GeV cover a wide range of baryon chemical potential ?mu_B (100-400 MeV) in the QCD phase diagram. Several STAR results from the BES Phase-I related to turn-off of strongly inter- acting quark-gluon plasma (sQGP) signatures and signals of QCD phase boundary are reported. In addition to this, an outlook is presented for the future BES Phase-II program and a possible fixed target program at STAR.