Nuclear Theory Group

Department of Physics, University of Houston

The Nuclear Theory Group at the University of Houston has been led by Volodymyr Vovchenko since 2022. Our research focuses on the properties of strongly interacting QCD matter under extreme conditions, such as those realized in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions and in neutron stars.

Ongoing work in the group includes:

  • QCD thermodynamics and the phase diagram, including the search for the QCD critical point at finite baryon density
  • Fluctuations of conserved charges and their connection to event-by-event measurements in heavy-ion collisions
  • Hot and dense QCD matter, studied with hydrodynamics, transport, and molecular dynamics simulations
  • Neutron stars and the equation of state of dense nuclear matter
  • Scientific computing, including open-source tools such as Thermal-FIST

Funding

Our work is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, through a DOE Early Career Award, Thermodynamic Properties of Hot and Dense QCD Matter from Fluctuations of Conserved Charges.

Group Members

Group Photo
Nuclear Theory Group at CPOD2024

Principal Investigator

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Volodymyr Vovchenko

Group Leader

QCD Theory and Phenomenology, Heavy-Ion Collisions, Neutron Stars, Scientific Computing

Postdoctoral Researchers

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Grégoire Pihan

Postdoctoral Researcher

Hot and Dense QCD Matter, Neutron skin, Fluctuations

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Roman Poberezhniuk

Postdoctoral Researcher

Heavy-Ion Collisions, Dense QCD Matter, Fluctuations

Graduate Students

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Jean Guma De La Vega

PhD Student

QCD Thermodynamics, Heavy-Ion Collisions

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Jonathan Parra

PhD Student

Fluctuations in Heavy-Ion Collisions

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Tripp Moss

PhD Student

Dense QCD Matter, Neutron Stars

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Volodymyr Kuznietsov

PhD Student

Hot and Dense QCD Matter, Molecular Dynamics, Critical Point

Selected Group Talks

QCD phase diagram at finite baryon density from heavy-ion collisions and new expansions

Talk by Volodymyr Vovchenko at XQCD 2026: The 22nd International Conference on QCD in Extreme Conditions

Jul 14, 2026 10:05 — 10:50 Pukyong National University, Busan, South Korea
Slides

Extracting QCD baryon susceptibilities from proton fluctuations at BES energies

Talk by Grégoire Pihan at QCD Critical Point and Hydrodynamic Evolution

Jun 4, 2026 11:00 — 12:00 Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Slides

Baryon junctions

Talk by Grégoire Pihan at 16th Workshop on Critical Point and Onset of Deconfinement (CPOD 2026)

Apr 17, 2026 09:10 — 09:40 CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
Slides

Quarkyonic Matter and the Neutron Star Equation of State

Talk by Tripp Moss at Cyclotron Institute Seminar, Texas A&M University

Apr 1, 2026 11:45 — 12:45 Cyclotron Institute, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

The search for the QCD Critical Point

Talk by Volodymyr Vovchenko at Probing our Understanding of Quark-Gluon Matter

Mar 30, 2026 16:00 — 16:30 Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, UC Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Slides Video

Contributions of critical fluctuations and baryon annihilation to proton number cumulants at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}} = 7.7-200$ GeV from hydrodynamics

Talk by Grégoire Pihan at SQM2026: 22nd International Conference on Strangeness in Quark Matter

Mar 24, 2026 16:25 — 16:45 UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Slides

Hadron resonance gas with density-dependent interactions for neutron stars and heavy-ion collisions

Talk by Volodymyr Vovchenko at SQM2026: 22nd International Conference on Strangeness in Quark Matter

Mar 24, 2026 11:55 — 12:15 UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Slides

Freeze-out of charge fluctuations in the QGP: D-measure at the LHC

Talk by Roman Poberezhniuk at SQM2026: 22nd International Conference on Strangeness in Quark Matter

Mar 24, 2026 09:05 — 09:25 UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Slides

Probing QGP via charge fluctuations in heavy-ion collisions

Talk by Roman Poberezhniuk at Heavy Ion Theory Seminar, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Jun 24, 2025 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA

Microscopic study of non-Gaussian particle number fluctuations near the critical point

Talk by Volodymyr Kuznietsov at Heavy Ion Theory Seminar, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Jun 18, 2025 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
Slides

The antiproton puzzle, QCD critical point, and fireball properties in heavy-ion collisions

Talk by Volodymyr Vovchenko at Quark Matter 2025

Apr 9, 2025 11:30 — 11:50 Frankfurt, Germany
Slides Video Conference Website

Charge fluctuations at LHC with local charge conservation as a signature of QGP

Talk by Jonathan Parra at Quark Matter 2025

Apr 8, 2025 18:10 — 18:30 Frankfurt, Germany
Slides

Microscopic study of non-Gaussian particle number fluctuations near the critical point

Talk by Volodymyr Kuznietsov at Quark Matter 2025

Apr 8, 2025 11:50 — 12:10 Frankfurt, Germany
Slides

Probing the QCD phase structure with heavy-ion collisions

Talk by Volodymyr Vovchenko at Compact Stars in the QCD Phase Diagram

Oct 10, 2024 14:00 — 14:50 Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto, Japan
Slides

QCD at finite temperature and density - Criticality

Talk by Volodymyr Vovchenko at Quark Matter 2023

Sep 7, 2023 11:30 — 12:00 Hilton of the Americas, Houston, TX, USA
Slides