Johann Rafelski

Prof. Johann Rafelski is a Professor of Physics at the University of Arizona's Department of Physics (College of Science). His research focuses on extreme states of matter, particularly the quark-gluon plasma (QGP), and its discovery through relativistic heavy ion collisions. He investigates vacuum structure under strong fields, laser-driven plasma physics, and cosmological phenomena like dark matter and antimatter evolution.

• Affiliations: University of Arizona Faculty (since 1986), Fellow of the American Physical Society, Member of Academia Europea
• Education: Ph.D. in Physics from Goethe University, Frankfurt (1973)

Key research areas include QGP dynamics, relativistic plasma physics, and applications of quantum electrodynamics in extreme conditions. His work bridges fundamental theory with experimental programs at CERN, BNL, and FAIR. Recent studies address QGP hadronization, cosmic magnetism origins, and fusion energy via laser-accelerated particles.

Awards: Fulbright Scholar (2019), Hungarian Academy of Science Foreign Membership (2022), APS Fellow (2011). His textbook Modern Special Relativity (Springer, 2022) modernizes relativity education for contemporary physics.