Jet reconstruction and jet studies in PHENIX

Jets of particles in localized regions of phase space are produced from partonic hard-scatterings of quarks and gluons contained within protons and neutrons. In pp and d+Au collisions the produced jets fragment into many hadrons, which can then be reconstructed in the PHENIX detector. In contrast, jets in heavy-ion collisions (for example Cu+Cu) may propagate through the created hot, dense medium which, in turn, could lower the energy of the jet. This energy loss has several consequences including modification of the expected rate of (final) particle production and jetshapes. By directly studying the jets measured in heavy-ion collisions, we can start to understand the properties of the hot, dense medium. However, the large nonjet backgrounds make such measurements difficult. In this talk, I will discuss the latest PHENIX results involving jets, jet reconstruction and high-pT phenomena in the context of our current understanding of heavy-ion collisions.