Unique new probe of proton spin structure at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

Scientists hoping to unravel the mystery of proton spin at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), a 2.4-mile-circumference particle accelerator at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, have a new tool at their disposal — the first to directly explore how quarks of different types, or “flavors,” contribute to the overall spin of the proton. The technique, described in papers just published by RHIC’s STAR and PHENIX collaborations in Physical Review Letters, relies on the measurement of particles called W bosons, the mediators of the weak force responsible for the decay of radioactive nuclei.

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