en.Wedoany.com Reported - On July 21, the High-Intensity Heavy-Ion Accelerator Facility (HIAF) located in Huizhou, Guangdong, China, passed process acceptance and officially entered trial operation, opening up for sharing with global scientific researchers. After 16 years of research and development, this is China's largest heavy-ion accelerator to date, achieving multiple world-firsts in core technologies. It can accelerate various ions to near-light speed, simulating extreme environments such as stellar explosions and the early universe in the laboratory, with applications in fundamental physics, medicine, aerospace, nuclear energy, and agriculture.
The core advantage of this facility lies in its pulsed heavy-ion beam intensity, which has reached the highest global level. Measured data show that the beam intensities for oxygen ions and bismuth ions have set new international records, increasing by 3 times and 7.5 times respectively compared to the previous global highest standards. Experimental data collection that previously took years can now be completed within hours. This performance achievement is attributed to a full-chain domestic technological breakthrough, including six independently controllable world-class core technologies: the world's first ultra-thin-walled, extremely high-vacuum chamber, with a vacuum environment superior to the lunar surface; a self-developed fourth-generation superconducting ion source, serving as a "processing center" for hundreds of billions of microscopic projectiles; China's first fully superconducting heavy-ion linear accelerator, accelerating ions with near-zero loss at an extremely low temperature of -271°C; an original fast-cycle, full-energy-storage pulsed power supply, compressing acceleration time from seconds to milliseconds; a high-gradient, oil-cooled, magnetic-alloy high-frequency system that overcomes foreign blockades, providing core acceleration power; and a self-developed intelligent cluster control system that completed a 2-kilometer ultra-long beamline in just 16 hours, setting a global record for the fastest beam commissioning of similar facilities.
The facility's beamline has a total length of 2 kilometers, equipped with approximately 6,000 sets of equipment and over 5 million components. It can accelerate all types of ions from hydrogen to uranium, covering a wide energy range. In addition to supporting cutting-edge fundamental research, the HIAF facility also offers multiple practical values, including assisting in the search for superheavy new elements and unraveling the mystery of the origin of heavy elements in the universe; simulating deep-space radiation environments to test the radiation resistance of spacecraft and nuclear power materials; supporting heavy-ion cancer therapy and the development of new medical isotope drugs; and cultivating high-yield crops through ion irradiation, extending food shelf life, and providing support for the exploration of new energy sources such as controlled nuclear fusion. The acceptance expert panel assessed that all construction indicators of the facility met requirements, with many core performance parameters exceeding design standards, placing its overall performance among the world's top tier.
Previously, high-end heavy-ion scientific facilities were primarily controlled by a few Western countries. After 16 years of research, Chinese scientists have solved numerous technical challenges, propelling China into the global first tier in the field of heavy-ion scientific research. Located in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, this facility serves as a platform for exploring the origin of cosmic matter and represents China's achievement of independent technological innovation in the field of nuclear science.
