Christina Markert

Christina Markert joined the physics faculty at the University of Texas in 2006. She graduated from Frankfurt University, Germany, in 2001, where she used data from the NA49 heavy ion experiment at the CERN SPS for her research. Afterward, she was a postdoctoral research fellow at Yale University for three years before becoming a research scientist at Kent State University.

• Relativistic heavy ion physics, experiments STAR at the RHIC collider and ALICE at the LHC, measuring the hadronic resonance production

Christina Markert’s research focuses on relativistic heavy ion physics, specifically studying the properties of nuclear matter at high densities and temperatures. Her work involves experiments with the STAR detector at the RHIC collider and the ALICE detector at the LHC, with a particular emphasis on measuring hadronic resonance production.

Markert investigates the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP), a state of matter hypothesized to have existed shortly after the Big Bang. This deconfined plasma of quarks and gluons is thought to have transitioned from a gas of protons and neutrons in the early universe. Using heavy ion collisions at particle accelerators, her research aims to recreate and study this phase transition in the laboratory.

Since her Ph.D., Markert has been involved with the STAR experiment at the RHIC collider located at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, New York. The STAR experiment has been collecting data since 2001, and the results have provided evidence of a strongly interacting deconfined medium, indicating the existence of a new state of nuclear matter under extreme conditions. The discovery of this strongly interacting Quark Gluon Plasma (sQGP) was announced in 2005. Her ongoing work focuses on collecting further evidence and exploring the properties of this new state.

At UT Austin, Markert’s research group is collaborating with other institutes in Texas and abroad to build a new detector component for the STAR experiment. This component will enable precise measurements of particle masses and identification of particles produced in heavy ion reactions. Additionally, Markert’s group is involved in the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Europe, where they study the Quark Gluon Plasma under even higher temperatures and energy densities. In addition to her research, Christina Markert is passionate about teaching and mentoring students.