Measuring Gluons and Quarks at the Brookhaven Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, the Nation’s Only Particle Collider

image via New Scientist

May 9, 2025, 10:00 AM

• •Brookhaven National Laboratory's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) is being replaced by the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC).
• •The EIC aims to study the fundamental properties of protons and the strong force.
• •The transition involves removing the RHIC and installing the EIC, which will take several years.
• •The EIC will use electrons to probe the nucleus, offering a cleaner collision environment.
• •Scientists are excited to explore questions about proton mass, spin, and the behavior of gluons.

Brookhaven National Laboratory is upgrading its particle physics research with the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), replacing the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The transition involves removing the RHIC and installing the EIC over a few years. The EIC will use electrons to study the nucleus, providing a cleaner collision environment. Scientists are eager to investigate fundamental aspects of protons and the strong force, including mass, spin, and gluon behavior, with the new collider.

Read original article