FIAS Scientific Report 2011 - Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies ...

ExtreMe Matter Institute EMMI
by Carlo Ewerz
The Extreme Matter Institute EMMI was founded in 2008 in the framework of the Helmholtz Alliance
'Cosmic Matter in the Laboratory' and is funded by the Helmholtz Association. The institute, which is
managed by the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, is dedicated to research
in the area of matter at the extremes of density and temperature, ranging from the coldest to the hottest
and densest forms of matter in the Universe. This comprises in particular the four key areas
a) quark-gluon plasma and the phase structure of strongly interacting matter,
b) neutron matter,
c) electromagnetic plasmas of high energy density,
d) cold quantum gases and extreme states in atomic physics.
This research is carried out with a special emphasis on interdisciplinary aspects and common
underlying concepts connecting the different research areas.
EMMI research is carried out in close collaboration with its 13 international partner institutions;
among the German partners are the universities of Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Heidelberg and Münster, the
Forschungszentrum Jülich, the Max-Planck-Institut for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, and FIAS. To
the latter EMMI has particularly close ties. The Scientific Director of EMMI, Prof. Peter Braun-
Munzinger, is also a Senior Fellow of FIAS. The four EMMI Fellows (leaders of EMMI Fellow
Groups) are also Fellows at FIAS.
In 2011, more than 350 scientist contributed to the activities in EMMI, among them more than 150
doctoral students and more than 100 postdocs. The structured graduate education of doctoral students
within EMMI is organized in close collaboration with the surrounding graduate schools, for example
with the Helmholtz Graduate School for Hadron and Ion Research (HGS-HIRe), the Heidelberg
Graduate School of Fundamental Physics (HGSFP), and the Helmholtz Research School Quark
Matter Studies (H-QM).
In 2011, EMMI members have published more than 250 papers in refereed journals, and more than
100 contributions to conference proceedings. EMMI runs an active workshop program. 8 EMMI
workshops and one three-week EMMI program with strong international participation were organized
in 2011. Among these workshops was the FIAS-EMMI Day that took place at FIAS. In December
2011, the first EMMI Rapid Reaction Task Force was organized and addressed the problem of
thermalization in heavy ion collisions. The Rapid Reaction Task Forces are a new instrument which
allows EMMI to gather a group of 15 to 20 world experts in order to address a particular scientific
question in intense discussion. These meetings can be organized on a short timescale in order to react
quickly to current and emerging questions. 11 renowned experts have visited EMMI partner
institutions for extended periods in 2011 as EMMI Visiting Professor, and have made progress in their
collaborations with EMMI members. These and further EMMI activities are listed at
www.gsi.de/emmi.
In March 2011 EMMI has moved to the new office building at GSI. The building offers a lecture hall
and four seminar rooms and provides a unique infrastructure for the activities of EMMI, in particular
for workshops and programs.
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