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The Electron-Ion Collider | Jefferson Lab | The Electron-Ion Collider
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aria-current="page">about</a> </li> <li> <a href="/eic#home_section3" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/14801" class="is-active" aria-current="page">goals</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.jlab.org/eiccenter">EIC Center at JLab</a> </li> </ul> </div> </nav> <nav role="navigation" aria-labelledby="block-colliderhomemenusection2-menu" id="block-colliderhomemenusection2" class="right-menu electron-menu block block-system block-system-menu-blockcollider-home-menu-section-2"> <h2 class="visually-hidden" id="block-colliderhomemenusection2-menu">Collider Home Menu Section 2</h2> <div class="jlab-blkcontent"> <ul> <li> <a href="https://www.jlab.org/eic-partner-project">EIC@JLab Project</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.bnl.gov/eic/epic.php">ePIC Collaboration</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.eicug.org/">EIC User Group</a> </li> </ul> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="region-home-content"> <div> <div data-drupal-messages-fallback class="hidden"></div><div id="block-si-collider-mainpagecontent-2" class="clearfix block block-system block-system-main-block"> <div class="jlab-blkcontent"> <div data-history-node-id="14801" class="layout layout--twocol-bricks"> <div class="layout__region layout__region--middle"> <div><p>The Electron-Ion Collider is a proposed machine for delving deeper than ever before into the building blocks of matter, so that we may better understand the matter within us and its role in the universe around us.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </section> <section class="home_section" id="home_section2"> <div class="region-home-section2"> <div> <div class="views-element-container collider-i-section block block-views block-views-blockeic-home-page-blocks-block-1" id="block-views-block-eic-home-page-blocks-block-1"> <div class="jlab-blkcontent"> <div><div class="home-section js-view-dom-id-7508615f503121c676284d170848c76c667e2c897c022b3c583e3c5abbc2493b"> <div class="views-row"><div class="views-field views-field-nothing"><span class="field-content"><div class="layout layout--twocol-bricks"> <div class="layout__region layout__region--top"> <h2> <div>about</div> </h2> </div> <div class="layout__region layout__region--first-above"> <div class="group_video"> <div class="group_video_image with-video"> <div> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2021-08/Screen-Shot-at-2-00-17.jpg" width="480" height="280" alt="about" /> </div> <div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ugDVco3-qXU" class="youtube-url youtube-url--ugdvco3-qxu">https://www.youtube.com/embed/ugDVco3-qXU</a></div> </div> <div class="group_caption"> <div>Probing Matter with an Electron-Ion Collider.</div> </div> </div> <div class="pull-quote"> <div>An Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) would open a new window through which we can study and understand the matter.</div> </div> </div> <div class="layout__region layout__region--second-above"> <div class="field-body-text"> <div><p>Everything that we can see in our vast universe is made up of atoms, with protons and neutrons at their core. Protons and neutrons form the nuclei of atoms, which make up the bulk of the mass of everything we see in the universe today, from stars to planets to people. </p> <p>Compared to the complexity that we observe in our world, protons and neutrons may seem like simple objects, but they aren鈥檛. Inside them is a teeming microcosm of quarks and glue-like gluons whose ethereal interactions help establish their essential properties. And while we know the fundamental constituents of protons and neutrons are quarks and gluons, we know little about how these tiniest building blocks are arranged and interact.</p> <p>To probe the intricacies of these inner microcosms, nuclear physicists hope to build an Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) 鈥攁 machine that will open a new window through which we can study and understand the matter within us and its role in the universe around us.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="layout__region layout__region--middle"> <div><a href="https://www.bnl.gov/eic/">more</a></div> </div> </div></span></div></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </section> <section class="home_section" id="home_section3"> <div class="region-home-section2"> <div> <div class="views-element-container collider-ii-section block block-views block-views-blockeic-home-page-blocks-block-2" id="block-views-block-eic-home-page-blocks-block-2"> <div class="jlab-blkcontent"> <div><div class="home-section js-view-dom-id-595ce73e448129f43e534a55df9debb40326deb7c307235814fab20188693c6c"> <div class="views-row"><div class="views-field views-field-nothing"><span class="field-content"><div class="layout layout--twocol-bricks"> <div class="layout__region layout__region--top"> <h2> <div>goals</div> </h2> </div> <div class="layout__region layout__region--first-above"> <div class="field-body-text"> <div><p>An Electron-Ion Collider will be a first-of-its-kind research machine. Building it will push the limits of our knowledge of accelerator science, particle detector design, high-performance computing and more. All of this effort will enable research into these topics and potentially others we have yet to discover.</p> </div> </div> <div><div class="paragraph paragraph--type-bullet-list paragraph--view-mode-default ds-2col clearfix"> <div class="group-left"> <div> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2021-08/goals-icon-1.png" width="87" height="103" alt="Precision 3D imaging of protons and nuclei" /> </div> </div> <div class="group-right"> <div><span>Precision 3D imaging of protons and nuclei</span></div> <div>An Electron-Ion Collider will take three-dimensional precision snapshots of the internal structure of protons and atomic nuclei.</div> </div> </div> , <div class="paragraph paragraph--type-bullet-list paragraph--view-mode-default ds-2col clearfix"> <div class="group-left"> <div> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2021-08/goals-icon-2.png" width="92" height="84" alt="Solving the Mystery of Proton Spin " /> </div> </div> <div class="group-right"> <div><span>Solving the Mystery of Proton Spin </span></div> <div>An EIC will reveal how the teeming quarks and gluons inside the proton combine their spins to generate the proton鈥檚 overall spin.</div> </div> </div> , <div class="paragraph paragraph--type-bullet-list paragraph--view-mode-default ds-2col clearfix"> <div class="group-left"> <div> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2021-08/goals-icon-3.png" width="96" height="94" alt="Search for Saturation" /> </div> </div> <div class="group-right"> <div><span>Search for Saturation</span></div> <div>A unique form of matter, the color glass condensate, may be produced for study for the first time by an EIC, providing deeper insight into gluons and their interactions.</div> </div> </div> , <div class="paragraph paragraph--type-bullet-list paragraph--view-mode-default ds-2col clearfix"> <div class="group-left"> <div> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2021-08/goals-icon-4.png" width="92" height="81" alt="Quark and Gluon Confinement" /> </div> </div> <div class="group-right"> <div><span>Quark and Gluon Confinement</span></div> <div>Experiments at an EIC will cast fresh light on the mystery of why quarks or gluons can never be observed in isolation but must remain confined within protons and nuclei.</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="layout__region layout__region--second-above"> <div class="group_video"> <div class="group_video_image"> <div> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2021-08/eic8%20%282%29.jpg" width="480" height="320" alt="goals" /> </div> </div> </div> <div class="pull-quote"> <div>The Electron-Ion Collider will be a novel tool for exploring matter鈥檚 inner world, providing the ultimate picture of protons and nuclei at their deepest level.</div> </div> </div> <div class="layout__region layout__region--middle"> <div><a href="https://www.bnl.gov/eic/">more</a></div> </div> </div></span></div></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </section> <section class="home_section" id="home_section4"> <div class="region-home-section2"></div> </section> <section class="home_section" id="home_section5"> <div class="region-home-section2"></div> </section> <section class="home_section" id="home_section6"> <div class="region-home-section2"></div> </section> <section class="home_section" id="home_section7"> <div class="region-home-section2"></div> </section> </div> <div class="region region-footer"> <div> <div id="block-colliderfooterlogo" class="footer-logo block block-block-content block-block-content7b7d9766-a239-4c40-b944-8e5e36134424"> <div class="jlab-blkcontent"> <div><p><img alt=""logo"" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b7275afc-8148-4a9c-94e8-f57d3582ad8f" height="89" src="/sites/default/files/jlab-logo-w.png" width="314"><a href="http://energy.gov/"><img alt="Energy logo" data-entity-type data-entity-uuid height="62" src="/sites/default/files/energy-logo.png" width="255"></a></p> </div> </div> </div> <div id="block-colliderfootertext" class="footer-text block block-block-content block-block-contentc43144b4-5f78-4eb4-8e63-d3369729fe39"> <div class="jlab-blkcontent"> <div><p>Jefferson Science Associates, LLC, a joint venture of the Southeastern Universities Research Association, Inc. and PAE, manages and operates the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, or Jefferson Lab, for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. DOE鈥檚 Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. 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