Hard and Soft Physics at RHIC with implications for LHC

Abstract

Measurements of $\pi^0$, identified charged hadrons, direct-single-$\gamma$, direct single-$e^{\pm}$ and jets are expected to be important probes of the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) at LHC as they are at RHIC. Recent results from RHIC will be presented, with implications, possibly grave, for LHC. Issues of soft-physics, such as $E_T$ distributions, will be discussed with questions as to: whether the soft multipicity or sum-transverse energy ($E_T$), may be the only quantity at LHC to exhibit number of collision scaling? or whether the anisotropic flow ($v_2$) will exceed the hydrodynamic limit?