The ALICE experiment at the LHC is dedicated to studying the collisions of nuclei at ultra-relativistic energies, the highest energies achieved in a lab anywhere in the world. At everyday energy scales, we know that matter is made up of quarks and gluons, which are confined tightly inside protons and neutrons. But when we collide heavy ions at relativistic energies, they can produce systems with extremely high temperatures and energy densities, and something extraordinary happens: quarks and gluons are no longer confined inside protons and neutrons. Instead, they form a new state of matter know the quark-gluon plasma (QGP).

This deconfined state of matter is believed to have filled the universe microseconds after the Big Bang. By creating and studying it in the lab, we aim to understand how the strong nuclear force behaves in this extreme environment. 

One of the most powerful tools we use to explore this are heavy quarks — charm and beauty. These are massive particles created in the earliest stages of the collision, before the QGP forms. Because of this, they experience the full evolution of the medium and interact with it in a unique way, losing energy as they travel through it. By measuring how these heavy quarks are modified on their way out, we can learn about the properties of the QGP at a microscopic level.

At UT Austin, our group focuses on measuring heavy quark production in both proton-proton and lead-lead collisions. These measurements help us piece together how the QGP behaves and evolves. To do this, we work with large datasets collected at the LHC with the ALICE detector, and use a variety of modern analysis tools, including machine learning techniques, to extract meaningful results from complex data.

The Electron-Ion-Collider (EIC) is an exciting next step for nuclear physics in the US. Its designed to uncover how quarks and gluons build up protons, neutrons, and nuclei. It will also explore novel regimes of strongly interacting matter, called a Color Glass Condensate (CGC), where gluons dominate. 

In our group, we're especially interested in using heavy quarks as tools to probe the internal structure of matter. They help us better understand how quarks and gluons are distributed inside protons and nuclei, a key piece of the puzzle in the QCD.

We're bringing our experience from studying heavy-flavour physics in proton-proton and heavy-ion collisions to this new environment. It's an exciting time and we are looking forward to contributing to the physics program of the ePIC experiment.