This book is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in high energy heavy-ion physics. It is relevant for students who will work on topics being explored at RHIC and the LHC. In the first part, the basic principles of these studies are covered including kinematics, cross sections (including the quark model and parton distribution functions), the geometry of nuclear collisions, thermodynamics, hydrodynamics and relevant aspects of lattice gauge theory at finite temperature. The second part covers some more specific probes of heavy-ion collisions at these energies: high mass thermal dileptons, quarkonium and hadronization. The second part also serves as extended examples of concepts learned in the previous part. Both parts contain examples in the text as well as exercises at the end of each chapter.
The two areas of experimental research explored in this volume are: the Hyperfine Interaction Methods, focusing on the microscopic configuration surrounding radioactive probe atoms in semiconductors, and Ion Beam Techniques using scattering, energy loss and channeling properties of highly energetic ions penetrating in semiconductors. A large area of interesting local defect studies is discussed. Less commonly used methods in the semiconductor field, such as nuclear magnetic resonance, electron nuclear double resonance, muon spin resonance and positron annihilation, are also reviewed. The broad scope of the contributions clearly demonstrates the growing interest in the use of sometimes fairly unconventional nuclear methods in the field of semiconductor physics.