J/ψ Production off Nuclei from GlueX to ePIC

Understanding the gluonic structure of nuclei is a longstanding challenge. The modification of quark distributions in bound nucleons (the EMC effect) and the existence of strong nucleon-nucleon correlations in nuclei suggest that gluon distributions can be substantially modified in nuclei. Theoretical models range from the existence of a gluonic EMC effect to the existence of "hidden-color" states in nuclei, with limited data constraints. The SRC-CT experiment in Hall D of Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility performed the first measurement of near- and sub-threshold J/ψ photoproduction off bound protons, using real photons with energies between 6 and 10.8 GeV to measure nuclei deuterium, helium, and carbon. In this talk I present the results from this experiment, which place the first stringent constraints on exotic gluonic effects in the structure of bound nucleons. I will also discuss the ePIC experiment and its potential to measure J/ψ production from nuclei with high precision, furthering our understanding of bound nucleon structure.