This week's Hype

Last month, the Quark matter 2011 Conference was a place for discussion of the new results of the first heavy-ion run at LHC energies last autumn. I looked a bit on the slides of the talks, but this is an environment far from my expertise. One thing I wonder about is whether the highly promoted application of AdS/CFT on heavy-ion physics might be tested on the LHC. Create AdS/CFT each distinctive predictions about how things will change as one of RHIC energies to LHC energies, and these are checked? Looking at the slides, there seem to be all sorts of interesting things to be learned about heavy-ion physics, but little mention of AdS/CFT modelling of such phenomena. Maybe an expert can help by pre-LHC predictions to point out and explain already have tested, or they can be in the future.

Symmetry breaking magazine today covers Quark matter 11, with String theory may hold answers about quark-gluon plasma, which seems to contain mostly the same hype about string theory and heavy ion physics that current for the last half-dozen years now has been:

Now, scientists have begun to see striking similarities between the properties of the early universe and a theory that would unify gravity with quantum mechanics, a long-standing goal for physicists.

Unfortunately, there is nothing in the article about some LHC test of these ideas. This Is the closest we get to that of Krishna Rajogopal (his talk is here):

"String theory is like a gift to us," said Rajagopal. "We are challenged with understanding the quark-gluon plasma as a liquid, and while string theory does not give us precision, we get a feel for the shape of the topic help."

So, I understand that AdS/CFT no precise, testable predictions, the best thing is to be made that "the us get a feel for the shape of the subject can help", whatever that means. A question for experts: as "String theory answers about quark-gluon plasma can", what are the questions for that string theory is giving answers, and what the LHC data have to say about these questions?

Update: David Mateos has posted a write-up of his Quark matter 2011 talk here. In it, he explains what the problems are with the use of AdS/CFT to say something about QCD. In terms of the issue of the LHC predictions, he gives an example: the relationship of the dispersion of heavy quarkonium Mesons moving through the quark-gluon plasma. Unfortunately, this seems to be much of a prediction:

I would like to stress that whether one obtains a visible peak, just a statistical enhancement or imperceptible effect sensitive many parameters related to the in-medium J/Psi physics hangs. The latter is not sufficiently well understood a precise prediction to make, so we should all take away from Figure 3 (right) is that there is an observable effect for some values of the parameters are within acceptable range might be.