Speaker
Description
Ultra-peripheral collisions (UPCs) at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and the Large Hadron Collider offer a unique laboratory for exploring the interplay between quantum electrodynamics and quantum chromodynamics in the presence of intense electromagnetic fields. These collisions, characterized by impact parameters exceeding the sum of the radii of the colliding nuclei, generate powerful photon fields that facilitate photon-photon and photon-nucleus interactions at unprecedented energy scales. In this talk, I will present recent experimental and theoretical progress in the study of UPCs, focusing on the vector meson productions in nuclei via coherent and incoherent photoproduction processes. I will also discuss how UPCs provide constraints on nuclear shadowing and saturation effects, including potential measurements to distinguish between these phenomena. Lastly, I will highlight future prospects for UPC research and its implications for advancing our understanding of the fundamental structure and dynamics of matter.
