Electron Ion Collider: The Next QCD Frontier - Understanding the glue that binds us all

TL;DR

This paper advocates for the Electron-Ion Collider as a crucial tool to explore gluon-dominated matter, aiming to advance understanding of quantum chromodynamics and the fundamental forces binding matter.

Contribution

It presents a comprehensive science case for the EIC, outlining key physics measurements, accelerator and detector requirements, and community consensus to push QCD research forward.

Findings

Identification of key physics measurements for gluon structure

Proposed accelerator and detector concepts

Community consensus on scientific priorities

Abstract

This White Paper presents the science case of an Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), focused on the structure and interactions of gluon-dominated matter, with the intent to articulate it to the broader nuclear science community. It was commissioned by the managements of Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) with the objective of presenting a summary of scientific opportunities and goals of the EIC as a follow-up to the 2007 NSAC Long Range plan. This document is a culmination of a community-wide effort in nuclear science following a series of workshops on EIC physics and, in particular, the focused ten-week program on "Gluons and quark sea at high energies" at the Institute for Nuclear Theory in Fall 2010. It contains a brief description of a few golden physics measurements along with accelerator and detector concepts required to achieve them, and it benefited from inputs from the users' communities of BNL and JLab. This White Paper offers the promise to propel the QCD science program in the U.S., established with the CEBAF accelerator at JLab and the RHIC collider at BNL, to the next QCD frontier.