Particle Collider Shuts Down, But New One May Rise

Brookhaven National Lab's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider ends operations, paving the way for the Electron-Ion Collider

Published on Feb. 6, 2026

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After 25 years of groundbreaking discoveries about the early universe and the structure of protons, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory has shut down. But the facility is already planning for its successor, the Electron-Ion Collider, which will build on RHIC's findings and provide an even more powerful tool for unraveling the secrets of matter.

Why it matters

The closure of RHIC marks the end of the only particle collider operating in the United States, leaving a gap that the Electron-Ion Collider aims to fill. The new collider will use electrons to probe the internal structure of protons in unprecedented detail, potentially solving longstanding mysteries about the composition and behavior of these fundamental particles.

The details

RHIC spent 25 years colliding heavy atomic nuclei at nearly the speed of light, recreating the conditions of the early universe and leading to the discovery of the quark-gluon plasma - a hot, dense state of matter that existed just after the Big Bang. As RHIC neared its shutdown, scientists switched to colliding protons to gather as much data as possible. The Electron-Ion Collider will build on RHIC's findings by colliding electrons with protons and atomic nuclei, providing a 3D 'imaging' of the proton's internal structure and potentially revealing a mysterious substance called the color glass condensate.

  • RHIC collided its last beams of gold nuclei and shut down on February 6, 2026.
  • The Electron-Ion Collider is planned to start up in the mid-2030s.

The players

Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)

A particle collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory that spent 25 years colliding heavy atomic nuclei to recreate conditions of the early universe and discover the quark-gluon plasma.

Electron-Ion Collider

A planned particle collider that will collide electrons with protons and atomic nuclei to provide unprecedented detail on the internal structure of protons, potentially solving longstanding mysteries about these fundamental particles.

Brookhaven National Laboratory

A U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory located on Long Island, New York, that has been home to particle physics research including the RHIC collider.

Alex Jentsch

A physicist at Brookhaven National Laboratory who commented on the bittersweet end of the RHIC collider's era.

Wolfram Fischer

An accelerator physicist at Brookhaven National Laboratory who said RHIC had a "spectacular run" beyond anyone's dreams.

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What they’re saying

“Either celebrate or grieve, one of the two.”

— Alex Jentsch, Physicist

“RHIC had a spectacular run … beyond what anyone could dream.”

— Wolfram Fischer, Accelerator Physicist

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

The closure of the RHIC collider marks the end of an era, but also the birth of hope for the future with the planned Electron-Ion Collider, which will build on RHIC's discoveries and provide an even more powerful tool for unraveling the mysteries of matter and the early universe.