Spokespersons:  Haiyan Gao,  John R. Calarco
Students:  Benjamin Clasie, Chris Crawford,  Jason Seely
And the BLAST collaboration.

The proton charge and current radii are fundamental quantities in physics. Precise determination of the proton charge radius is extremely important to the understanding of the proton structure in terms of quark and gluon degrees of freedom of Quantum Chromodynamics. It is also essential for high-precision tests of Quantum Electrodynamics using the hydrogen Lamb shift measurements.  We propose a new precision measurement of the proton charge radius using a laser-driven polarized hydrogen internal gas target and the BLAST detector in the South Hall Ring at the MIT-Bates Laboratory.  This measurement will fully utilize the unique features of the polarized internal target, polarized electron  beam in the storage ring, and the BLAST large acceptance spectrometer. This measurement is expected to  provide the most precise information on the proton charge radius from electron scattering,  which will have significant impact on tests of QCD and QED.

The Proton Radius Experiment has been conditionally approved to run at the BATES Linear Accelerator.  See the full proposal (also in  Postscript).