New Charge (may not be final):

In consultation with the Office of Nuclear Physics we have decided to make a change to the future RHIC run schedule. Specifically, we now plan to run RHIC in both FY16 and FY17, followed by one year (FY18) without a RHIC run during which the low energy RHIC electron cooling (LEReC) system will be installed. The high statistics Beam Energy Scan II is then planned for the years FY19 and FY20. The modified plan will allow for a less aggressive schedule of the LEReC project. It will also relax the conflict between the heavy ion and spin physics programs of RHIC that remained unresolved at last year’s PAC meeting.

I request that you submit the annual beam use requests by May 19, 2015. The BURs should be for a 22-week RHIC run in FY16, and either a 15-week or a 22-week RHIC run in FY17.

I also ask the STAR Collaboration to present the iTPC proposal to the PAC and to provide an update on experimental efforts aimed at exploring possible phenomenological manifestations of the chiral magnetic effect.

Both collaborations should present a tentative schedule for the release of results from the data taken in runs 13 and 14 (p+p, Au+Au 15, Au+Au 200, 3He+Au).

General Timeline:

•   April 3   : Collect proposals + solicit CAD projection
•   April 10 : Discuss CAD projections 
•   April 17 : Finalize proposals + Writing assignments
•   May   1  : Chapters + plots sumitted to committee
•   May 11  : Submit draft to collaboration
•   May 19  : Submit final draft to ALD