Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility
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| Motto | “Exploring the nature of matter” |
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| Established | 1984 |
| Research type | Nuclear physics |
| Budget | US$72 million (2004) |
| Director | Hugh E. Montgomery |
| Staff | 675 |
| Location | Newport News, Virginia, United States |
| Campus | 214 acres (87 ha) |
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Operating agency
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Jefferson Science Associates, LLC |
| Website | www.jlab.org |
Coordinates: 37°05′41″N 76°28′54″W / 37.09472°N 76.48167°W
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), commonly called Jefferson Lab or JLab, is a U.S. national laboratory located in Newport News, Virginia. Since June 1, 2006, it has been operated by Jefferson Science Associates, LLC, a limited liability company created by Southeastern Universities Research Association and PAE Applied Technologies. Until 1996 it was known as the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF); commonly, this name is still used for the main accelerator.
Founded in 1984, Jefferson Lab employs more than 675 people, and more than 2,000 scientists from around the world have conducted research using the facility. Its stated mission is "to provide forefront scientific facilities, opportunities and leadership essential for discovering the fundamental structure of nuclear matter; to partner in industry to apply its advanced technology; and to serve the nation and its communities through education and public outreach."
The laboratory's main research facility is the CEBAF accelerator, which consists of a polarized electron source and injector and a pair of superconducting RF linear accelerators that are 7/8-mile (1400 m) in length and connected to each other by two arc sections that contain steering magnets. As the electron beam makes up to five successive orbits, its energy is increased up to a maximum of 6 GeV. This leads to a design that appears similar to a racetrack when compared to the classical ring-shaped accelerators found at sites such as CERN or Fermilab. Effectively, CEBAF is a linear accelerator, similar to SLAC at Stanford, that has been folded up to a tenth of its normal length.
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