Supersymmetric confining gauge theories are interesting candidates for a theory of quark–lepton substructure. We review some general features of supersymmetric composite models and illustrate various technical developments by means of a toy model based on the group U(6). We also discuss some constraints on models with composite W-vector bosons.
The paper presents an introduction to Monte Carlo study of lattice gauge theories. Numerical results of Monte Carlo simulation with quark loops are presented.
The energy densities which might be achieved in ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions are discussed. Using these estimates, promising probes of a quark–gluon plasma as it might be produced in such collisions are reviewed. I discuss in detail the emission of photons and di-leptons. The consequences of hydrodynamic expansion and a first order phase transition are explored for the transverse momentum spectrum of hadrons. Fluctuations in the rapidity distribution of hadrons are also discussed as a possible signal for a first order phase transition. The possibility that copious production of strange particles may signal the production of a quark–gluon plasma is critically assessed.
