The Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) will help scientists unlock mysteries of the strongest force in nature.
When the EIC begins operations in the 2030s, this particle accelerator will collide electrons with protons or ions to produce never-before-seen views from inside the atom’s nucleus. Those “snapshots” will help scientists answer questions about the subatomic quarks and gluons that make up nearly all visible matter in the universe.
More than 100 radiofrequency (RF) systems will have vital roles in EIC operations, providing precise controls over bunches of particles. Some will help accelerate and decelerate particle bunches. Others will merge, split, and synchronize them.
All are invited to join Wencan Xu of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory for the 537th Brookhaven Lecture on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
Xu's talk, titled "Empowering Particle Accelerators: Superconducting Radiofrequency Systems for the Electron-Ion Collider," will be held at 4 p.m. Attendees can join in two ways:
- In person in the Bldg. 490 conference room. Note: Seating may be limited.
- Virtually on Zoom. Note: Additional details to connect are available here.
During this Brookhaven Lecture, Xu will introduce particle accelerators and the EIC. He will then discuss RF systems at the future facility, specifically superconducting RF (SRF) systems for EIC’s electron storage ring.
About the speaker
Wencan Xu is an accelerator physicist for the EIC. He earned a Ph.D. in nuclear techniques and applications from Peking University in 2009 and joined Brookhaven Lab’s Collider-Accelerator Department as a post-doc that same year. He is a lead scientist for EIC research and development, specializing in SRF cavities, high-power fundamental mode couplers, and high-power higher-order-mode dampers.
Xu has authored or coauthored articles for numerous journals and conferences, including Physics Review Letters, Physics Review Accelerators and Beams, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A, and Review of Scientific Instruments. To date, his publications have been cited more than 1,100 times. He has been invited to present at various conferences and has served on multiple review committees and scientific boards.
About the Brookhaven Lecture Series
The Brookhaven Lecture Series began in 1960. In the foreword to the first lectures, Brookhaven physicist Gertrude Scharff-Goldhaber wrote: "The Brookhaven Lectures, held by and for the Brookhaven staff, are meant to provide an intellectual meeting ground for all scientists of the Laboratory. In this role they serve a double purpose: they are to acquaint listeners with new developments and ideas not only in their own field but also in other important fields of science; they give them a heightened awareness of the aims and potentialities of Brookhaven National Laboratory."
That tradition continues today.