Collective phenomena in ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions: Anisotropic flow and more

Abstract

Many features of multiparticle production in ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions reflect the collision geometry and other collision characteristics determining the initial conditions. As the initial conditions affect all the particles to a different degree, it leads to truly multiparticle effects often referred to as anisotropic collective flow. Studying anisotropic flow in nuclear collisions provides unique and invaluable information about the system evolution and the physics of multiparticle production in general. Being not able to cover all aspects of anisotropic flow in one lecture, I decided in the first part of the lecture to discuss briefly a few important and established results, and in the second part, to focus, in a little more detail, on one recent development — a recent progress in our understanding of the role of fluctuations in the initial conditions. I also discuss some future measurements that might reveal further details of the multiparticle production processes.