We provide an assessment of the energy dependence of key measurements within the scope of the machine parameters for a U.S. based Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) outlined in the EIC White Paper. We first examine the importance of the physics underlying these measurements in the context of the outstanding questions in nuclear science. We then demonstrate, through detailed simulations of the measurements, that the likelihood of transformational scientific insights is greatly enhanced by making the energy range and reach of the EIC as large as practically feasible.
Lepton scattering is an established ideal tool for studying inner structure of small particles such as nucleons as well as nuclei. As a future high energy nuclear physics project, an Electron-ion collider in China (EicC) has been proposed. It will be constructed based on an upgraded heavy-ion accelerator, High Intensity heavy-ion Accelerator Facility (HIAF) which is currently under construction, together with a new electron ring. The proposed collider will provide highly polarized electrons (with a polarization of $sim$80%) and protons (with a polarization of $sim$70%) with variable center of mass energies from 15 to 20 GeV and the luminosity of (2-3) $times$ 10$^{33}$ cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. Polarized deuterons and Helium-3, as well as unpolarized ion beams from Carbon to Uranium, will be also available at the EicC. The main foci of the EicC will be precision measurements of the structure of the nucleon in the sea quark region, including 3D tomography of nucleon; the partonic structure of nuclei and the parton interaction with the nuclear environment; the exotic states, especially those with heavy flavor quark contents. In addition, issues fundamental to understanding the origin of mass could be addressed by measurements of heavy quarkonia near-threshold production at the EicC. In order to achieve the above-mentioned physics goals, a hermetical detector system will be constructed with cutting-edge technologies. This document is the result of collective contributions and valuable inputs from experts across the globe. The EicC physics program complements the ongoing scientific programs at the Jefferson Laboratory and the future EIC project in the United States. The success of this project will also advance both nuclear and particle physics as well as accelerator and detector technology in China.
We discuss the prospects of using jets as precision probes in electron-nucleus collisions at the future Electron-Ion Collider. Jets produced in deep-inelastic scattering can be calibrated by a measurement of the scattered electron. Such electron-jet tag and probe measurements call for an approach that is orthogonal to most HERA jet measurements as well as previous studies of jets at the future EIC. We present observables such as the electron-jet momentum balance, azimuthal correlations and jet substructure, which can provide constraints on the parton transport coefficient in nuclei. We compare simulations and analytical calculations and provide estimates of the expected medium effects. Implications for detector design at the future EIC are discussed.
Understanding the origin and dynamics of hadron structure and in turn that of atomic nuclei is a central goal of nuclear physics. This challenge entails the questions of how does the roughly 1 GeV mass-scale that characterizes atomic nuclei appear; why does it have the observed value; and, enigmatically, why are the composite Nambu-Goldstone (NG) bosons in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) abnormally light in comparison? In this perspective, we provide an analysis of the mass budget of the pion and proton in QCD; discuss the special role of the kaon, which lies near the boundary between dominance of strong and Higgs mass-generation mechanisms; and explain the need for a coherent effort in QCD phenomenology and continuum calculations, in exa-scale computing as provided by lattice QCD, and in experiments to make progress in understanding the origins of hadron masses and the distribution of that mass within them. We compare the unique capabilities foreseen at the electron-ion collider (EIC) with those at the hadron-electron ring accelerator (HERA), the only previous electron-proton collider; and describe five key experimental measurements, enabled by the EIC and aimed at delivering fundamental insights that will generate concrete answers to the questions of how mass and structure arise in the pion and kaon, the Standard Models NG modes, whose surprisingly low mass is critical to the evolution of our Universe.
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.
A precise determination of absolute luminosity, using the bremsstrahlung process, at the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) will be very demanding, and its three major challenges are discussed herein. First, the bremsstrahlung rate suppression due to the so-called beam size effect has to be well controlled. Secondly, the impact of huge synchrotron radiation fluxes should be mitigated. Thirdly, enormous bremsstrahlung event rates, in excess of 10 GHz, have to be coped with. A basic layout of the luminosity measurement setup at the EIC, addressing these issues, is proposed, including preliminary detector technology choices. Finally, the uncertainties of three proposed methods are also discussed.