How RHIC changed the way we think in Physics

The discoveries made at RHIC definitely changed our thinking. The complex final states in heavy ion collisions have so many particles that they produce statistical matter in which quarks are deconfined. This plasma not only obeys hydrodynamics but is a strongly coupled QCD liquid. String theory-derived approaches can be used to describe this ultra-low viscosity liquid, which is opaque to quarks and gluons, producing a large drag even on the heavy charm and bottom quarks. Interactions with quark gluon plasma can be studied by measuring the substructure of QCD jets.