Studying hot and dense nuclear matter at RHIC: High pT results from the PHENIX experiment

High pT particles such as π0 and direct photons were found to be crucial probes to study the hot and dense matter created in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The π0 as the leading particle from jet fragmentation can be used to probe the QGP directly, its modification is connected to the energy loss of partons in the medium. Direct photons on the other hand are produced at various stages of the collision and can leave the medium unaffected, once produced. They give access to the earliest stages of the collision as well as to the thermalized medium that evolves later. We present recent PHENIX results on direct photon and π0 production in Au+Au collisions at centre-of-mass energies between 39 and 200 GeV. The results are discussed in the light of theoretical models and compared to results of similar observables at the LHC.