DOE OSTI2012
Researchers have envisioned an electron-ion collider with ion species up to heavy ions, high polarization of electrons and light ions, and a well-matched center-of-mass energy range as an ideal gluon microscope to explore new frontiers of nuclear science. In its most recent Long Range Plan, the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee (NSAC) of the US Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation endorsed such a collider in the form of a 'half-recommendation.' As a response to this science need, Jefferson Lab and its user community have been engaged in feasibility studies of a medium energy polarized electron-ion collider (MEIC), cost-effectively utilizing Jefferson Lab's already existing Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF). In close collaboration, this community of nuclear physicists and accelerator scientists has rigorously explored the science case and design concept for this envisioned grand instrument of science. An electron-ion collider embodies the vision of reaching the next frontier in Quantum Chromodynamics - understanding the behavior of hadrons as complex bound states of quarks and gluons. Whereas the 12 GeV Upgrade of CEBAF will map the valence-quark components of the nucleon and nuclear wave functions in detail, an electron-ion collider will determine the largely unknown role sea quarks play and for the first time study the glue that binds all atomic nuclei. The MEIC will allow nuclear scientists to map the spin and spatial structure of quarks and gluons in nucleons, to discover the collective effects of gluons in nuclei, and to understand the emergence of hadrons from quarks and gluons. The proposed electron-ion collider at Jefferson Lab will collide a highly polarized electron beam originating from the CEBAF recirculating superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) linear accelerator (linac) with highly polarized light-ion beams or unpolarized light- to heavy-ion beams from a new ion accelerator and storage complex. Since the very beginning, the design studies at Jefferson Lab have focused on achieving high collider performance, particularly ultrahigh luminosities up to 10{sup 34} cm{sup -2}s{sup -1} per detector with large acceptance, while maintaining high polarization for both the electron and light-ion beams. These are the two key performance requirements of a future electron-ion collider facility as articulated by the NSAC Long Range Plan. In MEIC, a new ion complex is designed specifically to deliver ion beams that match the high bunch repetition and highly polarized electron beam from CEBAF. During the last two years, both development of the science case and optimization of the machine design point toward a medium-energy electron-ion collider as the topmost goal for Jefferson Lab. The MEIC, with relatively compact collider rings, can deliver a luminosity above 10{sup 34} cm{sup -2}s{sup -1} at a center-of-mass energy up to 65 GeV. It offers an electron energy up to 11 GeV, a proton energy up to 100 GeV, and corresponding energies per nucleon for heavy ions with the same magnetic rigidity. This design choice balances the scope of the science program, collider capabilities, accelerator technology innovation, and total project cost. An energy upgrade could be implemented in the future by adding two large collider rings housed in another large tunnel to push the center-of-mass energy up to or exceeding 140 GeV. After careful consideration of an alternative electron energy recovery linac on ion storage ring approach, a ring-ring collider scenario at high bunch repetition frequency was found to offer fully competitive performance while eliminating the uncertainties of challenging R&D on ampere-class polarized electron sources and many-pass energy-recovery linacs (ERLs). The essential new elements of an MEIC facility at Jefferson Lab are an electron storage ring and an entirely new, modern ion acceleration and storage complex. For the high-current electron collider ring, the upgraded 12 GeV CEBAF SRF linac will serve as a full-energy injector, and, if needed, provide top-off refilling. The CEBAF fixed-target nuclear physics program can be simultaneously operated since the filling time of the electron ring is very short. The ion complex for MEIC consists of sources for polarized light ions and unpolarized light to heavy ions, an SRF ion linac with proton energy up to 280 MeV, a 3 GeV prebooster synchrotron, a large booster synchrotron for proton energy up to 20 GeV, and a medium-energy collider ring with energy up to 100 GeV. The ion complex can accelerate other species of ions with corresponding energies at each accelerating stage. There are three collision points planned for MEIC. Two of them are for collisions with medium-energy ions; the third is for low energy ion beams stored in a dedicated low-energy compact storage ring, as a possible follow-on project.
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