Time scale

In the RHIC spin proposal [1] the following time scale is foreseen:

• in 1999 commissioning and setting up of the accelerator with heavy ion beams;
• in 2000 first polarized proton beams and accelerator studies.

One can expect in the year 2001 the completion of upgrades in STAR and PHENIX for spin physics and first physics runs with polarized proton beams at  GeV. There might be some contingency to this schedule. The quoted precisions at RHIC are based on a 100 days operation with polarized protons which will require at least 2 years of data taking (10 weeks/year - time sharing with the heavy ion program) for the completion of the first round of measurements at  GeV. First results can be expected then in the year 2003 or later due to the complexity of the measurements and analysis. In COMPASS the year 2001 will be fully dedicated to the proton spin program (measurements will be also taken in the year 2000) and significant results can be expected by the year 2002.