The Electron-Ion Collider -- A U.S. facility for the European community to explore the mysteries of the building blocks of matter

TL;DR

This paper advocates for European involvement in the U.S.-based Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), emphasizing scientific collaborations, detector R&D, and the mutual benefits for nuclear physics research across continents.

Contribution

It highlights the European community's active participation in the EIC and discusses potential scientific and technological synergies with European nuclear physics experiments.

Findings

European members constitute 25% of the EICUG.

European involvement can enhance detector R&D and scientific progress.

Collaboration opportunities benefit both U.S. and European nuclear physics communities.

Abstract

This document is submitted as input to the NuPECC Long Range Plan 2024 by three European members of the EIC Users Group Steering Committee (Vice Chair, one at-large member, and the EU Representative). We submit the document on behalf of the international EIC Users Group (EICUG) community, but we specifically represent 335 European members of the EICUG (25%) based in 80 institutions (30% of the total) located in Armenia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. This European involvement is an important driver of the EIC, but can also be beneficial for a number of related ongoing and planned nuclear physics experiments in Europe. In this document, the shared interest regarding scientific questions and detector R&D between the EIC and European nuclear physics communities is outlined. The aim is to highlight how these synergies offer ample opportunities to foster progress at the forefront of nuclear physics.