We report on a next-to-leading order QCD calculation of the cross section and the spin asymmetry for isolated large-p{sub T} prompt photon production in collisions of transversely polarized protons. Corresponding measurements may be used at RHIC to determine the transversity parton distributions of the proton.

We study the twist-three fragmentation function contribution to the single transverse spin asymmetries in inclusive hadron production in pp collisions, pp->h+X. In particular, we evaluate the so-called derivative contribution which dominates the spin asymmetry in the forward direction of the polarized proton. With certain parametrizations for the twist-three fragmentation function, we estimate its contribution to the asymmetry of pi0 production at RHIC energy. We find that the contribution is sizable and might be responsible for the big difference between the asymmetries in eta and pi0 productions observed by the STAR collaboration at RHIC.

The origin of the quantum mechanical spin of the proton in terms of its constituents is not yet fully understood. The discovery that the intrinsic spin of quarks contributes only a small fraction of the total proton spin sparked a huge theoretical and experimental effort to understand the origin of the remainder. In particular the transverse spin properties of the proton remain poorly understood. Significant transverse spin asymmetries in the production of hadrons have been observed over many years, and are related to both the transverse polarisation of quarks in a transversely polarised proton and to the spin dependence of orbital motion. These asymmetries are of interest because of perturbative QCD predictions that such asymmetries should be small. Measurements of such asymmetries may yield further insights into the transverse spin structure of the proton. The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) is the world s first polarised proton collider, and has been taking proton data since 2001. Polarised proton collisions at \(\sqrt{s}\) = 200 GeV taken during the 2006 RHIC run have been analysed and the transverse single and double spin asymmetries in the production of the neutral strange particles \(K 0_S\), \(\Lambda\) and \(\overline{\Lambda}\) have been measured in the transverse momentum range 0.5

The origin of the quantum mechanical spin of the proton in terms of its constituents is not yet fully understood. The discovery that the intrinsic spin of quarks contributes only a small fraction of the total proton spin sparked a huge theoretical and experimental effort to understand the origin of the remainder. In particular the transverse spin properties of the proton remain poorly understood. Significant transverse spin asymmetries in the production of hadrons have been observed over many years, and are related to both the transverse polarisation of quarks in a transversely polarised proton and to the spin dependence of orbital motion. These asymmetries are of interest because of perturbative QCD predictions that such asymmetries should be small. Measurements of such asymmetries may yield further insights into the transverse spin structure of the proton. The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) is the world's first polarised proton collider, and has been taking proton data since 2001. Polarised proton collisions at \(\sqrt{s}\) = 200 GeV taken during the 2006 RHIC run have been analysed and the transverse single and double spin asymmetries in the production of the neutral strange particles \(K^0_S\), \(\Lambda\) and \(\overline{\Lambda}\) have been measured in the transverse momentum range 0.5

This book attempts to cover the fascinating field of physics of relativistic heavy ions, mainly from the experimentalist's point of view. After the introductory chapter on quantum chromodynamics, basic properties of atomic nuclei, sources of relativistic nuclei, and typical detector set-ups are described in three subsequent chapters. Experimental facts on collisions of relativistic heavy ions are systematically presented in 15 consecutive chapters, starting from the simplest features like cross sections, multiplicities, and spectra of secondary particles and going to more involved characteristics like correlations, various relatively rare processes, and newly discovered features: collective flow, high pT suppression and jet quenching. Some entirely new topics are included, such as the difference between neutron and proton radii in nuclei, heavy hypernuclei, and electromagnetic effects on secondary particle spectra.Phenomenological approaches and related simple models are discussed in parallel with the presentation of experimental data. Near the end of the book, recent ideas about the new state of matter created in collisions of ultrarelativistic nuclei are discussed. In the final chapter, some predictions are given for nuclear collisions in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), now in construction at the site of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva. Finally, the appendix gives us basic notions of relativistic kinematics, and lists the main international conferences related to this field. A concise reference book on physics of relativistic heavy ions, it shows the present status of this field.

Papers of the June 1989 meeting in Beijing by the China Center of Advanced Science and Technology. This small book covers nucleus- nucleus collisions, states of the vacuum, and highly relativistic heavy ions in the experimental realm. Theoretical papers deal with quark-gluon plasma, and relativistic heavy ion collisions. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR