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  • News

    News

  • Status

    Status

    More information about the status of an electron-ion collider can be found in the documents linked below. In 2018, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine issued a report, “An Assessment of U.S.-Based Electron-Ion Collider Science.” Following the report, the directors of Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and Brookhaven National Laboratory issued a joint statement of support. More information about the impetus for building an electron-ion collider can be found in the 2015 Long-Range Plan, issued by the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee..

     

  • Benefits

    Benefits

    Beyond sparking scientific discoveries in a new frontier of fundamental physics, an Electron-Ion Collider will trigger technological breakthroughs that have broad-ranging impacts on human health and national challenges. Research on the technologies needed to make this machine a reality is already pushing the evolution of magnets and other particle accelerator components. 
     
    Some of these advances could lead to energy-efficient accelerators, thereby dramatically shrinking the size and operating costs of accelerators used across science and industry for example, to make and test computer chips; to deliver energetic particle beams to zap cancer cells; to study and design improved sustainable energy technologies such as solar cells, batteries, and catalysts; and to develop new kinds of drugs and other medical treatments. New methods of particle detection developed for an EIC could also lead to advances in medical imaging and national security. 
     
    In truth, it’s nearly impossible to predict what will come from the knowledge gained from an EIC. History shows that applications springing from a deeper understanding of matter and fundamental forces things like GPS, microelectronics, and radiological techniques for diagnosing and treating disease often emerge many years after the foundational physics discoveries that make them possible. 
     
    But one thing is certain: Building the experiments that inspire and train the next generation of scientific explorers is essential for maintaining U.S. leadership in nuclear science and for developing the high-tech workforce needed to address some of our nation’s deepest challenges.

     

  • Design

    Design

    "Design"

    The Electron-Ion Collider would consist of two intersecting accelerators, one producing an intense beam of electrons, the other a beam of either protons or heavier atomic nuclei, which are then steered into head-on collisions.

    The accelerators will be designed so that both beams can be polarized to around 70 percent for electrons, protons and light nuclei. Electrons will be able to probe particles from protons to the heaviest stable nuclei at a very wide range of energies, starting from 20–100 billion electron-volts (GeV), upgradable to approximately 140 GeV, to produce images of the particles’ interiors at higher and higher resolution. At least one detector and possibly more would analyze thousands of particle collisions per second, amassing the data required to tease out the smallest effects required for significant discoveries.

    Building the EIC will require the same core expertise that led to the versatility of the polarized proton and heavy ion beams at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the unique polarized electron beam properties of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. These two Department of Energy laboratories have been collaborating on initial studies and developing designs that make use of key existing infrastructure and capitalize on investments in science and technology. Each design approach would require the development of innovative accelerator and detector technologies to answer the questions described in this brochure.

     

  • Goals

    Goals

    There are many scientific questions that researchers expect an Electron-Ion Collider will allow them to answer. Among them are four main topics of study. 

     

    3D Structure of Protons and Nuclei
    3D Structure of Protons and Nuclei
    Scientists would use the Electron-Ion Collider to take three-dimensional precision snapshots of the internal structure of protons and atomic nuclei. As they pierce through the larger particles, the high-energy electrons will interact with the internal microcosm to reveal unprecedented details—zooming in beyond the simplistic structure of three valence quarks bound by a mysterious force. Recent experiments indicate that gluons—the glue-like carriers of the strong nuclear force that binds quarks together—multiply and appear to linger within particles accelerated close to the speed of light, and play a significant role in establishing key properties of protons and nuclear matter. By taking images at a range of energies, an EIC will reveal features of this “ocean” of gluons and the “sea” of quark-antiquark pairs that form when gluons split—allowing scientists to map out the particles’ distribution and movement within protons and nuclei, similar to the way medical imaging technologies construct 3D dynamic images of the brain. These studies may help reveal how the energy of the massless gluons is transformed through Einstein’s famous equation, E=mc2, to generate most of the mass of visible matter.
    Solving the Mystery of Proton Spin
    Solving the Mystery of Proton Spin
    The Electron-Ion Collider would be the world’s first polarized electron-proton collider where both the electron and proton beams have their spins aligned in a controllable way. This polarization makes it possible to make precision measurements of how a proton’s constituent quarks and gluons and their interactions contribute to the proton’s intrinsic angular momentum, or spin. Spin influences the proton’s optical, electrical, and magnetic characteristics and makes technologies such as MRI scanning work, but its origin has eluded physicists ever since experiments in the 1980s revealed that quarks can account for only about a third of the total spin. More recent experiments show that gluons make a significant contribution, perhaps even more than the quarks. An Electron-Ion Collider would produce definitive measurements of the gluons’ contributions, including how their movements within the proton microcosm affect its overall spin structure—thus providing the final pieces needed to solve this longstanding puzzle.
    Search for Saturation
    Search for Saturation
    Capturing the dynamic action of gluons within protons and nuclei will give scientists a way to test their understanding of these particles’ ephemeral properties. As gluons flit in and out of the vacuum, multiplying and recombining, scientists suspect they may reach a steady state of saturation called a “color glass condensate.” This unique form of nuclear matter gets its name from the “color” charges that mediate the interactions of the strong nuclear force, and the dense, glasslike walls these particles are thought to form in nuclei accelerated to nearly the speed of light, seemingly suspended by the effects of time dilation. Scientists will use the Electron-Ion Collider to search for definitive proof of whether this form of matter exists, and test the limits of gluons’ ability to expand beyond the bounds of a single proton/ neutron inside a nucleus. They’ll also explore the mechanism that keeps gluon growth in check, like a lid clamping down on an overflowing popcorn pot. Precisely measuring the strength of the gluon fields, which constitute the strongest fields found in nature, will tell us how gluons interact with each other and how they contribute to building the bulk of visible matter in the universe today.
    Quark and Gluon Confinement
    Quark and Gluon Confinement
    Experiments at an EIC would offer novel insight into why quarks or gluons can never be observed in isolation, but must transform into and remain confined within protons and nuclei. The EIC—with its unique combinations of high beam energies and intensities—would cast fresh light into quark and gluon confinement, a key puzzle in the Standard Model of physics.
  • About

    About

    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.

    Learn more about this first-of-its-kind machine in the documents linked below.

     

  • Creative Energy. Supercharged with Science.

    Accelerate your career with a new role at the nation's newest national laboratory. Here you can be part of a team exploring the building blocks of matter and lay the ground work for scientific discoveries that will reshape our understanding of the atomic nucleus. Join a community with a common purpose of solving the most challenging scientific and engineering problems of our time.

     

    Title Job ID Category Date Posted
    Lead Magnet Engineer 13366 Engineering
    Magnet Group Mechanical/Electrical Designer 13388 Misc./Trades
    RadCon Manager 13337 Environmental Safety
    Accounts Payable Assistant 13397 Accounting
    CIS Postdoctoral Fellow 13102 Science
    Data Center Operations Manager 13327 Engineering
    Deputy CNI Manager 13378 Computer
    Project Controls Analyst 13302 Clerical/Admin
    Human Resources Outreach Specialist 13376 Human Resources
    Electrical Engineer (Sustainability) 13364 Engineering
    Finance Business Manager 13365 Accounting
    Master HVAC Technician 13367 Misc./Trades
    Project Services and Support Office Manager 13330 Management
    SRF Accelerator Physicist 13359 Science
    Radiation Control Technician 13391 Technology
    Hall A Technologist/Design Drafter 13285 Engineering
    Survey and Alignment Technician (Metrology) 13385 Misc./Trades
    Geant4 Developer 13214 Computer
    Multimedia Intern 13215 Public Relations
    Communications Office Student Intern 13310 Public Relations
    Mechanical Engineer III 13140 Engineering
    Scientific Data and Computing Department Head 13383 Computer
    High Throughput Computing (HTC) Hardware Engineer 13197 Computer
    IT Project Manager 13340 Clerical/Admin
    MPGD Development Physicist 13381 Science
    DC Power Group Leader 13380 Engineering
    ES&H Inspection Program Lead 13323 Environmental Safety
    DC Power Systems Electrical Engineer 13371 Engineering
    Vacuum Engineer 13396 Engineering
    Magnet Group Staff Engineer 13370 Engineering
    ES&H Department Head 13338 Engineering
    HPDF Project Director 13373 Computer
    Storage Solutions Architect 13238 Computer
    Fusion Project Technician 13389 Misc./Trades
    SRF Production Chemistry Supervisor 13386 Technology
    Why choose us

    A career at Jefferson Lab is more than a job. You will be part of “big science” and work alongside top scientists and engineers from around the world unlocking the secrets of our visible universe. Managed by Jefferson Science Associates, LLC; Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility is entering an exciting period of mission growth and is seeking new team members ready to apply their skills and passion to have an impact. You could call it work, or you could call it a mission. We call it a challenge. We do things that will change the world.

    Welcome from Stuart Henderson, Lab Director
    Why choose Jefferson Lab
    Groundbreaking Science
    Groundbreaking Science /research/science
    Innovative Technology
    Innovative Technology /AI
    Diverse Workforce
    Diverse Workforce /human_resources/diversity
    PASSION AND PURPOSE
    • PASSION AND PURPOSE
      Middle School Science Bowl competitors huddle together to brainstorm the answer.
    • PASSION AND PURPOSE
      Local teachers share ideas for a classroom activity with other teachers during Teacher Night.
    • PASSION AND PURPOSE
      Two young learners hold up a model of the atom during Deaf Science Camp.
    • PASSION AND PURPOSE
      Staff Scientist Douglas Higinbotham snaps a selfie with some of the postdoc students he is mentoring.

    At Jefferson Lab we believe in giving back to our community and encouraging the next generation of scientists and engineers. Our staff reaches out to students to advance awareness and appreciation of the range of research carried out within the DOE national laboratory system, to increase interest in STEM careers for women and minorities, and to encourage everyone to become a part of the next-generation STEM workforce. We are recognized for our innovative programs like:

    • 1,500 students from 15 Title I schools engage in the Becoming Enthusiastic About Math and Science (BEAMS) program at the lab each school year.

    • 60 teachers are enrolled in the Jefferson Science Associates Activities for Teachers (JSAT) program at the lab inspiring 9,000 students annually.

    • 24 high school students have internships and 34 college students have mentorships at the lab.

       

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    Meet our people
    • Prabhakar Palni

      EIC User: Prabhakar Palni – EIC Scientist and Assistant Professor

      Goa University assistant professor joins Electron-Ion Collider collaboration in hopes of uncovering universe’s building blocks

      What is your role in the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC)?
      I am a member of the ATHENA-India group, working on the eAST software development and MC-Data validation teams. I will also contribute toward the ATHENA-India's joint efforts in silicon tracking detector development and construction for the EIC, as well as tracking software development.

      Why do you feel that the EIC is an important facility?
      CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has enriched our understanding of the Standard Model and the origin of mass of elementary particles by discovering the Higgs boson. But, we are far from understanding details about the universe's building blocks. I am hopeful that the physics goals of the EIC will add some more answers to fundamental questions we still have about them. For instance, we want to know more about the proton and neutron mass, spin, and internal structure. The EIC would be unique and the only facility to use polarized electron and proton/ion beams for its collisions at high energies. It will access kinematic regions in physics that have never been investigated before. This will open a new window to study the Standard Model precisely in diverse forms in these unexplored regions.

      What do you hope to learn with the EIC?
      Since the EIC is in its initial phase, I am excited to contribute to its development and, at the same time, learn how a mega-science project like the EIC takes its shape. I’m looking forward to being a part of this project through all its stages, starting right at the beginning of detector research and development; being involved with the processes of designing, construction and installation; and then having a positive impact all the way through to the commissioning and data-taking stages, where we aim to achieve the final physics goals. I want to be a part of the development of the detector hardware, as well as the software development efforts—and eventually be involved with the physics data analysis when the first EIC data finally arrive.

      What features or capabilities of the EIC are essential to your research?
      One of the essential features of the EIC is that there is substantial research activity involving international collaborations and interactions with world-class experts in nuclear and particle physics. This exchange of knowledge and information during the various stages of the EIC project will help me prosper in my research. This experience will also allow me to understand the multiple aspects of this level of a mega-science project and help make me a better experimental particle physicist!

      What is the biggest software or data challenge you expect to face in your EIC research?
      Artificial intelligence (AI) includes machine learning, deep learning algorithms, and AI-driven tools. AI is helping particle physicists to more efficiently and effectively accomplish tasks and achieve goals, such as searching for new physics signatures, particle identification, complex reconstruction of tracks and events, and detector simulation. In the next ten years, computational techniques like AI will play a significant role in EIC data science. One of the biggest challenges I anticipate is being able to keep up and educate myself with regards to advancements in new methods and AI-driven tools.

      Additionally, there is a possibility that the major programming languages that we presently use in the particle physics community, such as C++ and Python, may be replaced by new AI-friendly or faster computing languages, such as Julia, which is easier to code and nearly as fast as C. This change would impose a completely new challenge to the whole EIC community.

      What fascinates or excites you most about your work? Why?
      I enjoy exploring and working on new research fields in nuclear and particle physics. It is a great opportunity to learn new physics as well as new data analysis techniques and tools. Moreover, nuclear and particle physics tries to answer some of the fundamental questions that humankind has always wanted to know, especially around uncovering and understanding the universe's building blocks. Knowing that I am trying to contribute and work towards this end inspires me to indulge in more and explore new things. I have always enjoyed working on finding answers to some of the fundamental questions in physics.

      What is currently the most prominent 'thing' on your desktop, physical or virtual?
      I have prominent “things” on both desktops! On my physical desktop, there are some books for my upcoming fall semester nuclear and particle physics teaching course. On my virtual desktop, there are tools like eAST (eA simulation toolkit)  and Acts Common Tracking Software (ACTS) that will contribute toward EIC and some Monte Carlo event generators and high-energy physics (HEP) development environment tools/packages.

      What does a typical workday look like for you?
      Well, I try my best to balance my teaching duties and research activities. The teaching duties include full-time teaching in nuclear and particle physics courses, statistical mechanics, conducting labs (a general physics and a computer programming lab) and student evaluations. In research, I contribute to the EIC-related projects and soon, I am going to join the ALICE-India collaboration and continue working on heavy-ion physics. In addition, I also carry out phenomenological studies focusing on the strangeness production, underlying event, and Multiple Parton Interactions in small systems. I also mentor and guide graduate students in research. One of my students (a Ph.D. candidate) is contributing in the EIC project. And there are, of course, meetings related to local departmental activities, EIC-related meetings, and communications with collaborators; I stay busy.

      What do you like to do when you aren't working on EIC science?
      Academically, I love teaching-related activities, mentoring and interacting with the students—especially helping them overcome their doubts about our field. I enjoy working on the LHC data associated with heavy-ion physics. I also do nuclear and particle physics phenomenology work in my spare time. And I am an avid sports fan who loves to play cricket, squash, and badminton!

      The EIC project is funded primarily by the DOE Office of Science.

      This story is a pilot project conceived by the Software Working Group of the EIC User Group to become part of a series of profiles of future users of the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), a next-generation nuclear physics research facility being built at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory in partnership with DOE’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and collaborators around the world. The Software Working Group seeks to develop user-friendly tools to meet the data and software needs of the international group of physicists who will conduct research at the EIC.

      * This profile features a member of the A Totally Hermetic Electron-Nucleus Apparatus (ATHENA) collaboration, which is developing an EIC detector concept inspired by the Yellow Report and based on a new central detector magnet up to 3 Tesla. Other profiles in this series feature members of the EIC Comprehensive Chromodynamics Experiment (ECCE) consortium, which is currently developing a general detector concept that meets the design requirements and performance goals for an EIC detector as laid out by the EIC Yellow-Report process.

      As told to Carrie Rogers

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    LIFE AT JEFFERSON LAB

    The Jefferson Lab campus is located in southeastern Virginia amidst a vibrant and growing technology community with deep historical roots that date back to the founding of our nation. Staff members can live on or near the waterways of the Chesapeake Bay region or find peace in the deeply wooded coastal plain. You will have easy access to nearby beaches, mountains, and all major metropolitan centers along the United States east coast.

    To learn more about the region and its museums, wineries, parks, zoos and more, visit the Virginia tourism page, Virginia is for Lovers. 

    To learn more about life at Jefferson Lab, click here.

     

    We support our inventors! The lab provides resources to employees for the development of patented technology -- with over 180 awarded to date! Those looking to obtain patent coverage for their newly developed technologies and inventions while working at the lab are supported and mentored by technology experts, from its discovery to its applied commercialization, including opportunities for monetary awards and royalty sharing. Learn more about our patents and technologies here.

    SRF Cavities
    SRF Cavities (45.04 KB)
    Circuit Modules
    Circuit Modules (56.81 KB)
    Neutron Detectors
    Neutron Detectors (49.23 KB)
    3D Imaging
    3D Imaging (61.81 KB)
    • Kim Edwards
      Kim Edwards
      IT Division/Information Resource

      "When I’m 95 years old, I hope I will be one of those people who worked in the background to affect other people’s lives for the better."

      Kim Edwards
    • Jianwei Qiu
      Jianwei Qiu
      Associate Director For Theoretical And Computational Physics

      "My own research enables me to better lead the Theory Center, to lead our collaboration, to provide good guidance to our junior researchers on the team, and to provide valuable input to the advisory and review committees that I serve"

      Jianwei_Qiu
    • Jian-Ping Chen
      Jian-Ping Chen
      Senior Staff Scientist

      “Every time we solve problems, we contribute. It’s exciting times for new results and discoveries.”

      /jian-ping-chen-senior-staff-scientist
    • Ashley Mitchell
      Ashley Mitchell
      SRF Chemistry Technician

      “Chemistry is the art of science and art; you’re manipulating and creating things. We have lots of different recipes to work with.”

      /people/Ashley_Mitchell_SRF_Chemistry_Technician
    • Ron Lassiter
      Ron Lassiter
      Mechanical Designer

      “Here at the lab you get to see what you’ve worked on. You can hold it in your hands. It’s rewarding to know that you’ve played a part in helping the machine to be successful.”

      /people/Ron_Lassiter_Mechanical_Designer

    Jefferson Science Associates, LLC manages and operates the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. Jefferson Science Associates/Jefferson Lab is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, or veteran status or on any other basis prohibited by federal, state, or local law.

    If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please send an e-mail to recruiting @jlab.org or call (757) 269-7100 between 8 am – 5 pm EST to provide the nature of your request.

     

    JSA is an E-Verify Employer

     

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    "Proud V3-Certified Company"

    A Proud V3-Certified Company
    JSA/Jefferson Lab values the skills, experience and expertise veterans can offer due to the myriad of experiences, skill sets and knowledge service members achieve during their years of service. The organization is committed to recruiting, hiring, training and retaining veterans, and its ongoing efforts has earned JSA/Jefferson Lab the Virginia Values Veterans (V3) certification, awarded by the Commonwealth of Virginia.