RHIC Polarized Helium-3 Ion Source

A polarized ³He beam in RHIC would enable new, unique, high energy QCD studies of neutron structure with existing polarized proton beams. In addition, it could be used for important tests of the Standard Model in a future electron-ion collider. A source of polarized ³He++ ions utilizing the new Electron Beam Ionization Source (EBIS) at BNL is under development. ³He atoms can be polarized using metastability exchange optical pumping and the atoms transferred to EBIS. Fully stripped ³He++ ions would be extracted from EBIS and their polarization measured at low energies before acceleration in RHIC. The primary project team consists of Richard Milner, James Maxwell, and Charles Epstein at the Lab for Nuclear Science at MIT, where the majority of the ion source design and testing is taking place.  They are in close collaboration with the engineers at the MIT-Bates Linear Accelerator Center and with physicists at Brookhaven National Lab and the University of Mainz, Germany. An extended writeup of the project can be found here. Proceedings from the Particles and Nuclei International Conference '11 are located on the AIP website. A Workshop on Opportunities for Polarized ³He in RHIC and EIC took place on 28-30 September, 2011, at the Riken BNL Research Center.