Relativistic heavy ion physics: a theoretical overview

Abstract

This is a mini-review of recent theoretical work in the field of relativistic heavy ion physics. The following topics are discussed: initial conditions and the Color Glass Condensate; approach to thermalization and the hydrodynamical evolution; hard probes and the properties of the Quark-Gluon Plasma. Some of the unsolved problems and potentially promising directions for future research are listed as well.

8 pages, 4 figures, invited talk at the XXXIX Rencontres de Moriond Conference on "QCD and High Energy Hadronic Interactions", La Thuile, Italy, March 28 - April 4, 2004