This report is based on a ten-week program on "Gluons and the quark sea at
high-energies", which took place at the Institute for Nuclear Theory in Seattle
in Fall 2010. The principal aim of the program was to develop and sharpen the
science case for an Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), a facility that will be able
to collide electrons and positrons with polarized protons and with light to
heavy nuclei at high energies, offering unprecedented possibilities for
in-depth studies of quantum chromodynamics. This report is organized around
four major themes: i) the spin and flavor structure of the proton, ii)
three-dimensional structure of nucleons and nuclei in momentum and
configuration space, iii) QCD matter in nuclei, and iv) Electroweak physics and
the search for physics beyond the Standard Model. Beginning with an executive
summary, the report contains tables of key measurements, chapter overviews for
each of the major scientific themes, and detailed individual contributions on
various aspects of the scientific opportunities presented by an EIC
