NICA: a major step forward

The NICA Megascience Project achieved an important milestone: on 11 January, at approximately 10:40 PM, a stable beam of xenon nuclei circulated the red (lower) ring of the NICA Collider for more than 100 microseconds. Deputy Head of the Accelerator Division of the Laboratory of High Energy Physics at JINR Anatoly Sidorin discussed this accomplishment and plans regarding future work at the complex.

First, the beam circulated the section of the the Multi-Purpose Detector (MPD) with the help of beam reduction and dilution magnets. Then its trajectory covered the entire perimeter of the collider: the western arch, the SPD section, and the eastern arch. Thus, the beam circulated the lower ring in a closed orbit, with the signal getting registered on a fast current transformer. The commissioning is supervised by Chief Engineer of the NICA Accelerator Complex Evgeny Syresin and Deputy Head for Scientific Work of the Accelerator Division Valery Lebedev. This achievement was made possible by the concerted efforts of more than four hundred people – employees of the Accelerator Division and other VBLHEP JINR divisions.

In the near future, specialists will correct the orbit and put into operation a high frequency system. At the same time, a beam of xenon ions will be injected into the second (upper) ring of the collider. The final stage of the collider’s launch will be the collision of two beams in March 2026.

“The NICA Collider reaching a stable beam is a great result of 15 years of work, which demonstrates compliance with the technical requirements of all auxiliary ring systems and confirms the reliability of the magnet manufacturing technology, along with the assembly of the magnet cryostat system,” Anatoly Sidorin summarised.

A ¹²⁴Xe⁵⁴⁺ beam was first registered at the NICA Collider on 18 December 2025. In addition, in December, key components of the cooling system of the eastern half-ring of the collider were commissioned.

JINR Press Office