Gluons and the quark sea at high energies: distributions, polarization, tomography

TL;DR

This report discusses the scientific potential of an Electron-Ion Collider for exploring quantum chromodynamics, focusing on proton structure, nucleon tomography, nuclear matter, and beyond Standard Model physics.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of scientific opportunities at an Electron-Ion Collider, emphasizing four major research themes and detailed measurement plans.

Findings

Enhanced understanding of proton spin and flavor structure

Three-dimensional imaging of nucleons and nuclei

Potential to discover new physics beyond the Standard Model

Abstract

This report is based on a ten-week program on "Gluons and the quark sea at high-energies", which took place at the Institute for Nuclear Theory in Seattle in Fall 2010. The principal aim of the program was to develop and sharpen the science case for an Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), a facility that will be able to collide electrons and positrons with polarized protons and with light to heavy nuclei at high energies, offering unprecedented possibilities for in-depth studies of quantum chromodynamics. This report is organized around four major themes: i) the spin and flavor structure of the proton, ii) three-dimensional structure of nucleons and nuclei in momentum and configuration space, iii) QCD matter in nuclei, and iv) Electroweak physics and the search for physics beyond the Standard Model. Beginning with an executive summary, the report contains tables of key measurements, chapter overviews for each of the major scientific themes, and detailed individual contributions on various aspects of the scientific opportunities presented by an EIC.