Electron-Ion Collider (IMAGE)
Caption
The Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) will probe the internal structure of nuclear matter as it exists today. Electrons colliding with ions will exchange virtual photons with the nuclear particles to help scientists "see" inside the nuclear particles. The collisions will produce precision 3D snapshots of the internal arrangement of quarks and gluons within ordinary nuclear matter, like a combination CT / MRI scanner for atoms. Electrons can "pick out" individual quarks from the protons that make up nuclei. Studying how those quarks recombine to form composite particles will inform our understanding of how today's visible matter evolved from the QGP studied at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC).
Credit
Brookhaven National Laboratory
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