Overview

• 1. Introduction:

  • Review of QCD properties (confinement, chiral symm., vacuum)
  • High-energy heavy-ion physics topics: QCD phase diagram, quark- hadron phase transition, small-x physics

• 2. PHENIX experiment:

  • RHIC, Run-1 setup, luminosity

• 3. Results I: Global observables

  • Energy density, particle multiplicity, net baryon density.

• 4. Results II: Hard probes

  • High pT hadron spectra. "Conventional" nuclear vs. QGP effects.
  • Hadron composition at high pT.
  • Single electrons (open charm).
  • Elliptic flow.

• 5. Results III: Other observables

  • HBT "puzzle", fluctuations, strange baryons ...

• 6. PHENIX Run-2 prospects. Summary.