1. Relativistic Nuclear Collisions (RNC) Group Nuclear Science Division (NSD), Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Spin physics program at RHIC The goal is to experimentally determine the structure of the proton spin by observing small spin-dependent effects in the collisions of polarized protons. RHIC offers a unique opportunity to study the collisions of two polarized proton beams at the energies √s = 200 and 500 GeV. Proton spin budget Total spin is a sum of spins and orbital angular momenta of quarks and gluons Data analysis at STAR Gluon polarization ΔG At present, the spin of low-momentum gluons is not well known, and STAR measurements are competitive among other world data. Gluon polarization is measured by observing the spin dependence of the production cross sections of jets, jet pairs, and pions. Quark polarization ΔΣ Only 30% of the nucleon spin is well measured today (ΔΣ ≈ 0.3), and its distribution among quark flavors is not well known. STAR uses large acceptance detectors to measure some flavors of quarks and anti-quarks. Spin of u and d quarks is accessed by measuring the W boson production. Spin of s quarks is probed by observing the spin transfer from proton to Λ hyperons. Transverse spin phenomena Effects that depend on the transverse spin structure of the proton are studied with the transversely polarized proton beams at RHIC. In this area of research, STAR measures the production of π 0 and η mesons and neutrons in the forward direction. Inner vertex detector project Contact information: MS70R0319, Lawrence Berkely National Lab One Cyclotron Road, Berekely, 94720 Tel: 510-486- Fax: 510-486-4818 Web: http://rnc.lbl.gov Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Lab The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) locates at Brookhaven National Lab (BNL) at Long Island, NY. RHIC is the first machine in the world capable of colliding heavy ions and polarized protons (see the Spin section). The beams travel at nearly speed of light in opposite directions around RHIC's 2.4-mile, two-lane "racetrack." At six intersections, the lanes cross, leading to an intersection. RHIC collisions occur thousands of times per second. Each one acts as a microscopic pressure cooker, producing temperatures and pressures more extreme than exist now even in the cores of the hottest stars. Temperature inside a RHIC collision can be many thousand times the temperature of the sun. Relativistic heavy ion collisions provide us an effective tool to study the creation and characteristics of such a matter in laboratory. During the collision, tremendous amount of energy are dumped into a small volume to achieve sufficient energy density. Just after the collision, thousands more particles form as the area cools off. Each of these particles provides a clue as to what occurred inside the collision zone. The Solenoidal Tracker At RHIC (STAR) detector is a specially designed detector to track thousands of particles simultaneously created in heavy ion collisions. Protons and neutrons are made up of three quarks, along with the gluons that bind them together. Theory predicts at sufficient high temperature and density, quarks and gluons can be liberated and form a new state of matter - Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP). Theory also holds that for a brief time at the beginning of the universe there were no protons and neutrons, only free quarks and gluons. However, as the universe expanded and cooled, the quarks and gluons bound together and, for the next 13 billion years, remained virtually inseparable. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a 27km circumference collider accelerator in the border between Switzerland and France. A Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE) is a collaboration made up by 33 countries, 115 institutes and around 1000 members. Due to amount of acquired data, an world-wide computer network has been created. In the USA, the main sites are placed at LBNL and LLNL. Among several detectors, ALICE main detector is the Time Project Chamber. The ALICE USA Collaboration has proposed an Electromagnetic Calorimeter (EMCal) that will be used to measure neutral particles.