The SLC (SLAC Linear Collider) is capable of colliding polarized or unpolarized electrons with unpolarized positrons at a center of mass energy at or near the Z0 resonance.
The SLC was conceived as an upgrade to the existing linear
accelerator at SLAC. The first Z0 boson was produced by
the collider in the Spring of 1989 and measured by the
Mark II detector. The SLD (SLAC Large
Detector) was designed and constructed specifically for
Z0 physics at the SLC. The
SLD collaboration consists of approximately
150 active physicists from
34 institutions. The SLD was first moved onto the SLC beamline
in February of 1991 and underwent an engineering run from
June through August of that year.
The 1992 SLC run began with an unpolarized electron beam.
Roughly 1000 hadronic Z0 decays were measured with the
SLD detector. In April of 1992 a polarized electron
source was installed and commissioned. From May through August
the SLC produced approximately 10,000 Z0 events with an average electron
beam polarization of 23%. Both the luminosity and polarization were
improved for the 1993 run. The SLD logged approximately 50,000 Z0
events to tape with an electron beam polarization of 63% from March
through August of 1993.