KEK
Encyclopedia
, known as KEK, is a national organization whose purpose is to operate the largest particle physics
laboratory in Japan, which is situated in Tsukuba of Ibaraki
prefecture. Established in 1997. The term "KEK" is also used to refer to the laboratory itself, which employs approximately 900 employees. KEK's main function is to provide the particle accelerators and other infrastructure needed for high-energy physics, material science, structural biology
, radiation
science, computing science, nuclear transmutation
and so on. Numerous experiments have been constructed at KEK by internal and international collaborations to make use of them. Makoto Kobayashi
is the emeritus professor at KEK, is known for his work on CP-violation, and was awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics
.
Scientists in KEK conduct training for Ph.D.
course students of the School of High Energy Accelerator Science in the Graduate University for Advanced Studies
.
, is 46 TFLOPS
. The theoretical operation performance of Blue Gene
Solution, a super computer made by IBM
, is 57.3 TFLOPS. These super computers had been used to study quantum chromodynamics
and numerical accelerator physics
mainly, and these super computers have been shut down in order to introduce a next super computer in the future. Computing Research Center also manages the other computer systems: KEKCC, B-factory Computer System and Synchrotron Light Computer System.
KEK is a first laboratory that showed a web server in Japan on September 30, 1992. The first web site in Japan can be seen even now.
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
laboratory in Japan, which is situated in Tsukuba of Ibaraki
Ibaraki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is Mito.-History:Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province...
prefecture. Established in 1997. The term "KEK" is also used to refer to the laboratory itself, which employs approximately 900 employees. KEK's main function is to provide the particle accelerators and other infrastructure needed for high-energy physics, material science, structural biology
Structural biology
Structural biology is a branch of molecular biology, biochemistry, and biophysics concerned with the molecular structure of biological macromolecules, especially proteins and nucleic acids, how they acquire the structures they have, and how alterations in their structures affect their function...
, radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
science, computing science, nuclear transmutation
Nuclear transmutation
Nuclear transmutation is the conversion of one chemical element or isotope into another. In other words, atoms of one element can be changed into atoms of other element by 'transmutation'...
and so on. Numerous experiments have been constructed at KEK by internal and international collaborations to make use of them. Makoto Kobayashi
Makoto Kobayashi (physicist)
is a Japanese physicist known for his work on CP-violation who was awarded one quarter of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature."- Biography :After completing his PhD at...
is the emeritus professor at KEK, is known for his work on CP-violation, and was awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
.
History
KEK was established in 1997 in a reorganization of the Institute of Nuclear Study, University of Tokyo (established in 1955), the National Laboratory for High Energy Physics (established in 1971), and the Meson Science Laboratory of the University of Tokyo (established in 1988).- 19711971 in scienceThe year 1971 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Astronomy and space exploration:* January 31 - Apollo program: Astronauts aboard Apollo 14 lift off for a mission to the moon....
: National Laboratory for High Energy Physics (KEK) was established. - 19761976 in scienceThe year 1976 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Astronomy and space exploration:* June 18 – Gravity Probe A, a satellite-based experiment to test Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, is launched....
: The protonProtonThe proton is a subatomic particle with the symbol or and a positive electric charge of 1 elementary charge. One or more protons are present in the nucleus of each atom, along with neutrons. The number of protons in each atom is its atomic number....
synchrotronSynchrotronA synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator in which the magnetic field and the electric field are carefully synchronised with the travelling particle beam. The proton synchrotron was originally conceived by Sir Marcus Oliphant...
(PS) produced an 8 GeVElectronvoltIn physics, the electron volt is a unit of energy equal to approximately joule . By definition, it is equal to the amount of kinetic energy gained by a single unbound electron when it accelerates through an electric potential difference of one volt...
beam as designed. The PS achieved 12 GeV. - 19781978 in scienceThe year 1978 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Computer science:* February 16 – The first computer bulletin board system is created .-Geophysics:...
: The Booster SynchrotronSynchrotronA synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator in which the magnetic field and the electric field are carefully synchronised with the travelling particle beam. The proton synchrotron was originally conceived by Sir Marcus Oliphant...
Utilization Facility and a PhotonPhotonIn physics, a photon is an elementary particle, the quantum of the electromagnetic interaction and the basic unit of light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation. It is also the force carrier for the electromagnetic force...
Factory (PF) were founded. - 19821982 in scienceThe year 1982 in science and technology involved many significant events, listed below.-Astronomy:* March 10 – Syzygy: all 9 planets align on the same side of the Sun.-History of science:...
: The PF succeeded in storing a 2.5 GeV electronElectronThe electron is a subatomic particle with a negative elementary electric charge. It has no known components or substructure; in other words, it is generally thought to be an elementary particle. An electron has a mass that is approximately 1/1836 that of the proton...
beamParticle beamA particle beam is a stream of charged or neutral particles which may be directed by magnets and focused by electrostatic lenses, although they may also be self-focusing ....
. - 19841984 in scienceThe year 1984 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy and space exploration:* February 7 – Astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L...
: The Transposable Ring Intersecting Storage Accelerator in Nippon (TRISTAN) Accumulation Ring (AR) accelerated an electronElectronThe electron is a subatomic particle with a negative elementary electric charge. It has no known components or substructure; in other words, it is generally thought to be an elementary particle. An electron has a mass that is approximately 1/1836 that of the proton...
beam to 6.5 GeV. - 19851985 in scienceThe year 1985 in science and technology involved many significant events, listed below.-Environment:* May 16 – Scientists of the British Antarctic Survey announce discovery of the ozone hole.-Exploration:...
: The AR accelerated a positronPositronThe positron or antielectron is the antiparticle or the antimatter counterpart of the electron. The positron has an electric charge of +1e, a spin of ½, and has the same mass as an electron...
beam to 5 GeV. - 19861986 in scienceThe year 1986 in science and technology involved many significant events, some listed below.-Astronomy and space exploration:* January 24 – Voyager 2 space probe makes first encounter with Uranus....
: The TRISTAN Main Ring (MR) accelerated both electronElectronThe electron is a subatomic particle with a negative elementary electric charge. It has no known components or substructure; in other words, it is generally thought to be an elementary particle. An electron has a mass that is approximately 1/1836 that of the proton...
and positronPositronThe positron or antielectron is the antiparticle or the antimatter counterpart of the electron. The positron has an electric charge of +1e, a spin of ½, and has the same mass as an electron...
beams to 25.5 GeV. - 19881988 in scienceThe year 1988 in science and technology involved many significant events, some listed below.-Astronomy and space exploration:* September 29 – NASA resumes space shuttle flights, grounded after the Challenger disaster....
: The MR energy was upgraded to 30 GeV with the help of superconducting accelerating cavities. - 19891989 in scienceThe year 1989 in science and technology involved many significant events, some listed below.-Astronomy:* August – the asteroid 4769 Castalia is the first asteroid directly imaged, by radar from Arecibo....
: Accelerator and Synchrotron Radiation Science departments were established in the Graduate University for Advanced StudiesGraduate University for Advanced StudiesThe is one of the national universities of Japan. It is located in the town of Hayama in Kanagawa Prefecture. It was established in 1988. Its nickname is...
. - 19941994 in scienceThe year 1994 in science and technology involved many significant events, listed below.-Astronomy and space exploration:* July 16 – July 22 – The fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact the planet Jupiter...
: KEKB B-factory construction began. - 19951995 in scienceThe year 1995 in science and technology involved many significant events, listed below.-Archaeology:* January 18 - In southern France near Vallon-Pont-d'Arc a network of caves are discovered that contain paintings and engravings that are 17,000 to 20,000 years old.* Wes Linster discovers the first...
: TRISTAN experiments finished. - 19971997 in scienceThe year 1997 in science and technology involved many significant events, listed below.-Astronomy and space exploration:* January 17 - Explosion of a Delta II rocket carrying a military GPS payload shortly after liftoff from Cape Canaveral....
: The High Energy Accelerator Research Organization was established. - 19981998 in scienceThe year 1998 in science and technology involved many events, some of which are included below.-Astronomy and space exploration:* January–September – Cosmologists from the Supernova Cosmology Project led by Saul Perlmutter and the High-z Supernova Search Team led by Adam Riess and Brian...
: First beam storage at KEKB (KEK B-factory) ring. - 19991999 in scienceThe year 1999 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Aeronautics:* February 27 – While trying to circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon, Colin Prescot and Andy Elson set a new endurance record after being in a hot air balloon for 233 hours and 55 minutes.* March 3 –...
: The Long-baseline Neutrino OscillationNeutrino oscillationNeutrino oscillation is a quantum mechanical phenomenon predicted by Bruno Pontecorvowhereby a neutrino created with a specific lepton flavor can later be measured to have a different flavor. The probability of measuring a particular flavor for a neutrino varies periodically as it propagates...
experiment (K2K) began. The Belle experimentBelle experimentThe Belle experiment is a particle physics experiment conducted by the Belle Collaboration, an international collaboration of more than 400 physicists and engineers investigating CP-violation effects at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organisation in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.The...
at the KEKB began operation. - 20012001 in scienceThe year 2001 in science and technology involved many events, some of which are included below.-Astronomy and space exploration:* The NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft lands in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid....
: Construction of High Intensity Proton Accelerators (J-PARCJ-PARCJ-PARC is a high intensity proton accelerator facility. It is a joint project between KEK and JAEA and is located at the Tokai campus of JAEA. J-PARC aims for the frontier in materials and life sciences, and nuclear and particle physics...
) started. - 20042004 in scienceThe year 2004 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Anthropology:*October 27 - Remains of a previously unknown species of human is discovered in Indonesia...
: Became the Inter-University Research Institute Corporation High Energy Accelerator Research Organization. K2K experiment ended. - 20052005 in scienceThe year 2005 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* April 8 – Total solar eclipse*February 23 – Astronomers announce the discovery of a galaxy, VIRGOHI21, that consists almost entirely of dark matter...
: Tokai Campus was opened. Experiments at PS ended. - 20062006 in scienceThe year 2006 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:*January 25 - The discovery of the planet OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb through gravitational microlensing is announced by PLANET/RoboNet, OGLE and MOA...
: J-PARCJ-PARCJ-PARC is a high intensity proton accelerator facility. It is a joint project between KEK and JAEA and is located at the Tokai campus of JAEA. J-PARC aims for the frontier in materials and life sciences, and nuclear and particle physics...
Center was established. - 20082008 in scienceThe year 2008 in science and technology involved some significant events and discoveries, some of which are listed below.-Events and discoveries:...
: Prof. Makoto KobayashiMakoto Kobayashi (physicist)is a Japanese physicist known for his work on CP-violation who was awarded one quarter of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature."- Biography :After completing his PhD at...
won the 2008 Nobel Prize in PhysicsNobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
. - 20092009 in scienceThe year 2009 in science and technology involved numerous significant events and discoveries, some of which are listed below. 2009 was designated the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations.-Events and discoveries:...
: J-PARCJ-PARCJ-PARC is a high intensity proton accelerator facility. It is a joint project between KEK and JAEA and is located at the Tokai campus of JAEA. J-PARC aims for the frontier in materials and life sciences, and nuclear and particle physics...
construction was completed.
Organization
KEK has four laboratories mainly.- Accelerator Laboratory: Laboratory to study, develop, build and manage particle accelerators.
- Institute of Particle and Nuclear Studies: Pedestal physics laboratory to study elementary particle physics and nuclear physicsNuclear physicsNuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
. - Institute of Materials Structure Science: Applied physicsApplied physicsApplied physics is a general term for physics which is intended for a particular technological or practical use.It is usually considered as a bridge or a connection between "pure" physics and engineering....
laboratory to study material structures. - Applied Research Laboratory: Laboratory used to support research using particle accelerators.
Scientists in KEK conduct training for Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
course students of the School of High Energy Accelerator Science in the Graduate University for Advanced Studies
Graduate University for Advanced Studies
The is one of the national universities of Japan. It is located in the town of Hayama in Kanagawa Prefecture. It was established in 1988. Its nickname is...
.
Location
- Tsukuba Campus: 1-1 Oho, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0801, Japan
- Tokai Campus: 2-4 Shirane Shirakata, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki 319-1195, Japan
Current Complex
- KEKB: A electron-positron colliderColliderA collider is a type of a particle accelerator involving directed beams of particles.Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators.-Explanation:...
. KEKB has two storage rings: a 8.0 GeV electron storage ringStorage ringA storage ring is a type of circular particle accelerator in which a continuous or pulsed particle beam may be kept circulating for a long period of time, up to many hours. Storage of a particular particle depends upon the mass, energy and usually charge of the particle being stored...
and a 3.5 GeV positron storage ringStorage ringA storage ring is a type of circular particle accelerator in which a continuous or pulsed particle beam may be kept circulating for a long period of time, up to many hours. Storage of a particular particle depends upon the mass, energy and usually charge of the particle being stored...
. The circumferential length is about 3.016 km. Massive amounts of B-mesons and anti-B-mesons had been generated by means of colliding 8.0 GeV electrons and 3.5 GeV positrons each other. KEKB is, thus, otherwise known as B-factory. A Belle experimentBelle experimentThe Belle experiment is a particle physics experiment conducted by the Belle Collaboration, an international collaboration of more than 400 physicists and engineers investigating CP-violation effects at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organisation in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.The...
had been conducted using KEKB. KEKB is the world's highest luminosityLuminosityLuminosity is a measurement of brightness.-In photometry and color imaging:In photometry, luminosity is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to luminance, which is the density of luminous intensity in a given direction. The SI unit for luminance is candela per square metre.The luminosity function...
machine (2010), and the total integrate luminosityLuminosityLuminosity is a measurement of brightness.-In photometry and color imaging:In photometry, luminosity is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to luminance, which is the density of luminous intensity in a given direction. The SI unit for luminance is candela per square metre.The luminosity function...
is 1040 fb−1. KEKB has been shut down since June, 2010 and has been upgraded for SuperKEKB that is intended about 40 times the instantaneous luminosity of the KEKB.
- Photon FactoryPhoton FactoryThe Photon Factory is a synchrotron located at KEK, in Tsukuba, Japan, about fifty kilometres from Tokyo.There are two major facilities, the Photon Factory itself which is a 2.5GeV synchrotron with a beam current of around 350mA, and the PF-AR 'Advanced Ring for Pulsed X-Rays', which is a 6.5GeV...
(PF): A electron storage ringStorage ringA storage ring is a type of circular particle accelerator in which a continuous or pulsed particle beam may be kept circulating for a long period of time, up to many hours. Storage of a particular particle depends upon the mass, energy and usually charge of the particle being stored...
is used for synchrotron lightSynchrotron lightA synchrotron light source is a source of electromagnetic radiation produced by a synchrotron, which is artificially produced for scientific and technical purposes by specialized particle accelerators, typically accelerating electrons...
experiments. The circumferential length is about 187 m. The energy of the electron beam is 2.5 GeV.
- Photon Factory Advanced Ring (PF-AR): An electron storage ringStorage ringA storage ring is a type of circular particle accelerator in which a continuous or pulsed particle beam may be kept circulating for a long period of time, up to many hours. Storage of a particular particle depends upon the mass, energy and usually charge of the particle being stored...
is used for synchrotron lightSynchrotron lightA synchrotron light source is a source of electromagnetic radiation produced by a synchrotron, which is artificially produced for scientific and technical purposes by specialized particle accelerators, typically accelerating electrons...
experiments. This acceleratorParticle acceleratorA particle accelerator is a device that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to high speeds and to contain them in well-defined beams. An ordinary CRT television set is a simple form of accelerator. There are two basic types: electrostatic and oscillating field accelerators.In...
generates high intensity and pulsed X-rayX-rayX-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
with the electron beam of 6.5 GeV. The circumferential length is about 377 m. This ring used to be operated as a booster synchrotronSynchrotronA synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator in which the magnetic field and the electric field are carefully synchronised with the travelling particle beam. The proton synchrotron was originally conceived by Sir Marcus Oliphant...
for TRISTAN, electron-positron collider, and called TRISTAN Accumulation Ring (AR) originally.
- KEK e+/e- Linac: A linear accelerator complex had injected 8.0 GeV electrons and 3.5 GeV positrons to KEKB. The linac also provides 2.5 GeV electrons for PF and 6.5 GeV electrons for PF-AR. The Linac has been upgraded for SuperKEKB.
- Accelerator Test FacilityAccelerator Test Facility1) The Accelerator Test Facility is a user facility within Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, USA. Commencing operation in 1989, the BNL-ATF carries out research and development on advanced accelerator physics and studies the interactions of high power electromagnetic radiation and high...
(ATF): A test accelerator is focused on generating a super low-emittance beam. This is one of the essential techniques for realizing a future electron-positron linear collider. The beam energy of electrons is 1.28 GeV in normal operation.
- Superconducting RF Test Facility (STF): A test facility to build and operate a test linac with high-gradient superconducting cavities, as a prototype of the main linac systems for International Linear ColliderInternational Linear ColliderThe International Linear Collider is a proposed linear particle accelerator. It is planned to have a collision energy of 500 GeV initially, and, if approved after the project has published its Technical Design Report, planned for 2012, could be completed in the late 2010s. A later upgrade to 1000...
(ILC).
- Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARCJ-PARCJ-PARC is a high intensity proton accelerator facility. It is a joint project between KEK and JAEA and is located at the Tokai campus of JAEA. J-PARC aims for the frontier in materials and life sciences, and nuclear and particle physics...
): A proton accelerator complex consisting primarily of a 600 MeV linac, a 3 GeV synchrotronSynchrotronA synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator in which the magnetic field and the electric field are carefully synchronised with the travelling particle beam. The proton synchrotron was originally conceived by Sir Marcus Oliphant...
and 50 GeV synchrotronSynchrotronA synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator in which the magnetic field and the electric field are carefully synchronised with the travelling particle beam. The proton synchrotron was originally conceived by Sir Marcus Oliphant...
. J-PARC was bult with a collaboration between KEK and JAEA, and is used for nuclear physicsNuclear physicsNuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
, particle physicsParticle physicsParticle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
, muonMuonThe muon |mu]] used to represent it) is an elementary particle similar to the electron, with a unitary negative electric charge and a spin of ½. Together with the electron, the tau, and the three neutrinos, it is classified as a lepton...
science, neutronNeutronThe neutron is a subatomic hadron particle which has the symbol or , no net electric charge and a mass slightly larger than that of a proton. With the exception of hydrogen, nuclei of atoms consist of protons and neutrons, which are therefore collectively referred to as nucleons. The number of...
science, Accelerator-Driven System (ADS) and a range of other applications.
- KEK digital acceleratorKEK digital acceleratorThe High Energy Accelerator Research Organization KEK digital accelerator is a renovation of the KEK 500 MeV booster proton synchrotron, which was shut down in 2006...
(KEK-DA) is a renovation of the KEK 500 MeV booster proton synchrotron, which was shut down in 2006. The existing 40 MeV drift tube linac and rf cavities have been replaced by an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source embedded in a 200 kV high-voltage terminal and induction acceleration cells, respectively. A DA is, in principle, capable of accelerating any species of ion in all possible charge states.
Shutdown complex
- Proton Synchrotron (PS): An accelerator complex to accelerate protons up to 12 GeV. PS had consisted primarily of a 750 keV pre-accelerator, a 40 MeV linac, a 500 MeV booster synchrotronSynchrotronA synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator in which the magnetic field and the electric field are carefully synchronised with the travelling particle beam. The proton synchrotron was originally conceived by Sir Marcus Oliphant...
and a 12 GeV main ring. PS had been used for nuclearNuclear physicsNuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
and particle physicsParticle physicsParticle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
. PS also had provided the 12 GeV proton beam to a neutrinoNeutrinoA neutrino is an electrically neutral, weakly interacting elementary subatomic particle with a half-integer spin, chirality and a disputed but small non-zero mass. It is able to pass through ordinary matter almost unaffected...
beam line in KEK for a KEK to Kamioka (K2K) experiment. PS was shut down in 2007.
- Neutrino Beam Line: A beam line to drive neutrinos into Super-KamiokandeSuper-KamiokandeSuper-Kamiokande is a neutrino observatory which is under Mount Kamioka near the city of Hida, Gifu Prefecture, Japan...
, which is about 250 km away from KEK, and a neutrino oscillationNeutrino oscillationNeutrino oscillation is a quantum mechanical phenomenon predicted by Bruno Pontecorvowhereby a neutrino created with a specific lepton flavor can later be measured to have a different flavor. The probability of measuring a particular flavor for a neutrino varies periodically as it propagates...
experiment named K2K had been conducted from 1999 to 2004. A neutrino oscillationNeutrino oscillationNeutrino oscillation is a quantum mechanical phenomenon predicted by Bruno Pontecorvowhereby a neutrino created with a specific lepton flavor can later be measured to have a different flavor. The probability of measuring a particular flavor for a neutrino varies periodically as it propagates...
experiment named TokaiTokai, Ibarakiis a village located in Naka District, Ibaraki, Japan. It is approximately 120 km north of Tokyo, Japan on the Pacific coast.As of 1 January 2005, the village has an estimated population of 35,467 and a population density of 946.29 persons per km²...
to Kamioka (T2KT2KT2K is a particle physics experiment that is a collaboration between several countries, including Japan, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom...
) has been conducted using J-PARCJ-PARCJ-PARC is a high intensity proton accelerator facility. It is a joint project between KEK and JAEA and is located at the Tokai campus of JAEA. J-PARC aims for the frontier in materials and life sciences, and nuclear and particle physics...
since 2009.
- Transposable Ring Intersecting Storage Accelerator in Nippon (TRISTAN): An electron-positron collider had been operated from 1987 to 1995. The main purpose was detecting top quarkTop quarkThe top quark, also known as the t quark or truth quark, is an elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Like all quarks, the top quark is an elementary fermion with spin-, and experiences all four fundamental interactions: gravitation, electromagnetism, weak interactions, and...
. The electron and positron energy were 30 GeV. TRISTAN had three detectors: TOPAZ, VENUS and AMY. KEKB was built through the use of the tunnel of TRISTAN.
Running and Future Plans
- SuperKEKB: An electron-positron collider, consisting of a 7 GeV electron storage ringStorage ringA storage ring is a type of circular particle accelerator in which a continuous or pulsed particle beam may be kept circulating for a long period of time, up to many hours. Storage of a particular particle depends upon the mass, energy and usually charge of the particle being stored...
and a 4 GeV positron storage ringStorage ringA storage ring is a type of circular particle accelerator in which a continuous or pulsed particle beam may be kept circulating for a long period of time, up to many hours. Storage of a particular particle depends upon the mass, energy and usually charge of the particle being stored...
, to achieve higher luminosityLuminosityLuminosity is a measurement of brightness.-In photometry and color imaging:In photometry, luminosity is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to luminance, which is the density of luminous intensity in a given direction. The SI unit for luminance is candela per square metre.The luminosity function...
by means of increasing the beam current, focusing the beams at the interaction point and making the electromagnetic beam-beam interactions small. The target luminosityLuminosityLuminosity is a measurement of brightness.-In photometry and color imaging:In photometry, luminosity is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to luminance, which is the density of luminous intensity in a given direction. The SI unit for luminance is candela per square metre.The luminosity function...
has been set to 8×1035 cm−2 s−1, about 60 times higher than the KEKB's original design value. SuperKEKB has adopted a nano-beam scheme. KEK will build a new damping ring in order to generate the nano scale positron beam. On October, 2010 the Japanese government formally approved the SuperKEKB project, and on June, 2010 an initial budget of 100 million dollars (¥100 = $1) for a Very Advanced Research Support Program was assigned for 2010-2012. The total budget is about 315 million dollars (¥100 = $1) by the program. The upgrade will be completed, and the first collision will be conducted in 2014. The highest luminosityLuminosityLuminosity is a measurement of brightness.-In photometry and color imaging:In photometry, luminosity is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to luminance, which is the density of luminous intensity in a given direction. The SI unit for luminance is candela per square metre.The luminosity function...
will be achieved in 2021. Belle-II experiment will be conducted using SuperKEKB.
- Compact Energy Recovery Linac (cERL): A test accelerator for a future synchrotron light source named Energy Recovery Linac (ERL). cERL will study the uncertainty of the accelerator physicsAccelerator physicsAccelerator physics deals with the problems of building and operating particle accelerators.The experiments conducted with particle accelerators are not regarded as part of accelerator physics. These belong to particle physics, nuclear physics, condensed matter physics, materials physics, etc...
in the ERL through the beam experiments. The maximum energy of the electron beam has been set to 245 GeV. The beam commissioning in cERL will be scheduled from 2013 with a 35 MeV electron beam. KEK has a plan that will build 5 GeV ERL, provides ultra-high brightness and ultra-short pulsed synchrotron light, after the cERL experiments.
- International Linear ColliderInternational Linear ColliderThe International Linear Collider is a proposed linear particle accelerator. It is planned to have a collision energy of 500 GeV initially, and, if approved after the project has published its Technical Design Report, planned for 2012, could be completed in the late 2010s. A later upgrade to 1000...
(ILC): A future electron-positron linear collider consisting of superconducting cavities with a length of approximately 31 kilometers in length and two damping rings, for electrons and positrons, with a circumference of 6.7 kilometers. The electron and positron energy will be up to 500 GeV with an option to upgrade to 1 TeV. Nearly 300 laboratories and universities around the world are involved in the ILC: more than 700 people are working on the accelerator design, and another 900 people on detector development. The accelerator design work is coordinated by the Global Design Effort, and the physics and detector work by the World Wide Study.
Computers
KEK has computers which are fastest class in Japan, and Computing Research Center in KEK manages the computer systems. The theoretical operation performance of SR16000, a super computer made by HITACHIHitachi
Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...
, is 46 TFLOPS
FLOPS
In computing, FLOPS is a measure of a computer's performance, especially in fields of scientific calculations that make heavy use of floating-point calculations, similar to the older, simpler, instructions per second...
. The theoretical operation performance of Blue Gene
Blue Gene
Blue Gene is a computer architecture project to produce several supercomputers, designed to reach operating speeds in the PFLOPS range, and currently reaching sustained speeds of nearly 500 TFLOPS . It is a cooperative project among IBM Blue Gene is a computer architecture project to produce...
Solution, a super computer made by IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, is 57.3 TFLOPS. These super computers had been used to study quantum chromodynamics
Quantum chromodynamics
In theoretical physics, quantum chromodynamics is a theory of the strong interaction , a fundamental force describing the interactions of the quarks and gluons making up hadrons . It is the study of the SU Yang–Mills theory of color-charged fermions...
and numerical accelerator physics
Accelerator physics
Accelerator physics deals with the problems of building and operating particle accelerators.The experiments conducted with particle accelerators are not regarded as part of accelerator physics. These belong to particle physics, nuclear physics, condensed matter physics, materials physics, etc...
mainly, and these super computers have been shut down in order to introduce a next super computer in the future. Computing Research Center also manages the other computer systems: KEKCC, B-factory Computer System and Synchrotron Light Computer System.
KEK is a first laboratory that showed a web server in Japan on September 30, 1992. The first web site in Japan can be seen even now.
See also
- KEKB (accelerator)
- Belle experimentBelle experimentThe Belle experiment is a particle physics experiment conducted by the Belle Collaboration, an international collaboration of more than 400 physicists and engineers investigating CP-violation effects at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organisation in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.The...
- Makoto Kobayashi (physicist)Makoto Kobayashi (physicist)is a Japanese physicist known for his work on CP-violation who was awarded one quarter of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature."- Biography :After completing his PhD at...
- J-PARCJ-PARCJ-PARC is a high intensity proton accelerator facility. It is a joint project between KEK and JAEA and is located at the Tokai campus of JAEA. J-PARC aims for the frontier in materials and life sciences, and nuclear and particle physics...
- Super-KamiokandeSuper-KamiokandeSuper-Kamiokande is a neutrino observatory which is under Mount Kamioka near the city of Hida, Gifu Prefecture, Japan...
- International Linear ColliderInternational Linear ColliderThe International Linear Collider is a proposed linear particle accelerator. It is planned to have a collision energy of 500 GeV initially, and, if approved after the project has published its Technical Design Report, planned for 2012, could be completed in the late 2010s. A later upgrade to 1000...
- CERNCERNThe European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
- FermilabFermilabFermi National Accelerator Laboratory , located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a US Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics...
- DESYDESYThe DESY is the biggest German research center for particle physics, with sites in Hamburg and Zeuthen....
- SLAC National Accelerator LaboratorySLAC National Accelerator LaboratoryThe SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, originally named Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, is a United States Department of Energy National Laboratory operated by Stanford University under the programmatic direction of the U.S...
- Brookhaven National LaboratoryBrookhaven National LaboratoryBrookhaven National Laboratory , is a United States national laboratory located in Upton, New York on Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base...
External links
- First Web Site in Japan
- KEK_en - TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
- International Linear Collider Official Site