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Polarized Beams and Polarimetry

Meetings: first Tuesday of each month, 09:00 Eastern Time (New York).

The Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) is a discovery machine for probing the "glue" that binds the building blocks of visible matter and the "polarization" that sets the spin of nuclei — and much of its physics program depends on polarized beams. Built at Brookhaven National Lab on the foundation of RHIC, the EIC will use two intersecting storage rings: one with an intense beam of polarized electrons, the other with high-energy polarized protons and light ions (or heavier unpolarized nuclei), steered into collisions. Its design, construction, and upgrades pose rich scientific and technical challenges, opening the door to a worldwide accelerator collaboration.

Formed at IPAC 2024, the EIC Accelerator Collaboration has launched this international Working Group on polarized beams and polarimetry, focusing on EIC-specific and general topics:

  • Theory of spin dynamics in storage rings (radiative depolarization, spin diffusion, beam-beam forces)
  • Spin simulation and programming tools for polarized beams
  • Polarized beam manipulation and optimization
  • Polarized hadron and atomic beam sources (protons, deuterons, helions)
  • Theory and technology of polarimetry from pp, dd, and ³He-³He scattering
  • Polarized electron sources and Compton-based electron polarimetry

September 2026

August 2026

July 2026