RHIC and the Electron-Ion Collider: Our Quest to Understand the Structure of Visible Matter in our Universe
Dr. Alex Jentsch
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY
Virtual only
Faculty Host: Michael Lisa
Abstract: All of the visible matter in our universe exists due to the interactions between quarks and gluons, which comprise protons and neutrons, and allow them to bind together to form atomic nuclei. These interactions arise due to the strong nuclear force, described by Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). There are many open questions in QCD which require precision measurements of deep-inelastic scattering (DIS) on protons and nuclei to answer. In January of 2020, the US Department of Energy officially green-lit the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), which will be the best tool to answer these questions in QCD, to be constructed at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Building on the existing infrastructure of the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC), the EIC will be the first machine capable of colliding polarized electrons with proton and light-ion beams, and of colliding electrons with heavy-ion beams, all over a broad range of center-of-mass energies. In addition, the EIC will operate at incredibly high luminosities up to 1034 cm-2s-1, enabling access to statistically challenging measurements inaccessible in previous DIS experiments. In this talk, I introduce the physics of the EIC and the relevant experimental technology required to achieve the science goals of this new facility. Additionally, I will discuss what can be achieved with current experiments at RHIC as we transition to the EIC era over the next decade.
Bio: Alex Jentsch is a research associate at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) on Long Island, NY, focusing on both the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) development, and analysis of STAR data. He earned his Ph.D. in nuclear and particle physics from the University of Texas at Austin in May of 2019, with his research focus being on D-meson correlations in heavy-ion collisions. His interest in the EIC initially stemmed from the possibility of using future EIC data on nuclear structure to better interpret the past 20 years of heavy-ion physics data, which suffer from a lack of understanding of the initial parton distributions in the heavy nuclei. Since coming to BNL, he has also gotten involved in leading the study and design of the detectors used in the "far-forward" region of the EIC, which are needed for the exclusive/diffractive physics program to succeed. These detectors require unique considerations for integration with the particle accelerator system itself.
Please use the Zoom link below to attend virtually:
https://osu.zoom.us/j/94858307115?pwd=K0JDMTROWVhIOUp6bU1sU0prZjNUZz09
Meeting ID: 948 5830 7115
Password: PRB1080
