Unraveling QCD Puzzles via the Electron–Ion Collider (EIC)

The Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) will be the US's next flagship facility for exploring the strong force and the role of gluons in shaping visible matter. By colliding polarized electrons with polarized protons and nuclei over a wide kinematic range, the EIC will open a new window on Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), addressing three long-standing puzzles: the origin of the proton's mass, the origin of its spin, and the emergence of gluon saturation at small momentum fractions. With its unprecedented luminosity, polarization, and detector coverage, the EIC will enable the first detailed 3D mapping of quark–gluon structure inside nucleons and nuclei. This poster introduces the science goals, kinematic reach, and detector design of the EIC, highlights the contributions of the SURGE topical collaboration in developing theoretical frameworks, and concludes by connecting these broader efforts to our work on machine learning approaches for nonlinear QCD evolution.