Plans and proposals for the next, great physics machine for studying the intrinsic bits of everyday matter are starting to form. The proposed Electron-Ion Collider could ensure that the cutting-edge science that has kept Jefferson Lab and the United States at the frontier of nuclear physics research for 25 years will continue for decades to come.
The next large nuclear physics research facility being proposed to the DOE for construction is an Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). An EIC could provide unique capabilities for the study of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the theory that describes how quarks and gluons build protons, neutrons and nuclei. In March 2013, NSAC ranked an EIC as “absolutely central” in its ability to contribute to world-leading science research. Two facilities, Jefferson Lab and Brookhaven National Lab in New York, are developing facility concepts.