Chinese, foreign experts discuss scientific issues concerning global accelerator facilities

GUANGZHOU, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- More than 60 scientists in the field of accelerators from Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Italy, the Republic of Korea and China, recently gathered in the city of Dongguan in south China's Guangdong Province to exchange views on the latest research and scientific issues related to accelerator facilities worldwide.

The 6th ICFA (International Committee for Future Accelerator) Mini-Workshop on Space Charge 2024 aimed to promote in-depth international exchanges and cooperation in the fields of advanced accelerator physics and technology. This was the first time such a workshop was held in China.

"The influence of China's research in the field of high-intensity accelerators has crossed national borders. The transfer of the conference from Western countries to China is the recognition and expectation of the international academic community for China's research strength in this field," said Dr. Giuliano Franchetti, an expert based in Germany.

The focus of the workshop is also one of the main research topics of phase II of the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), a large scientific facility dubbed a "super microscope" to probe the structure of the microscopic world, according to Wang Sheng, chairman of the workshop, and deputy director of the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as chief commander of the CSNS Phase II project.

China earlier this year began to upgrade the CSNS -- the nation's first research facility of its kind and which provides the most intense pulsed neutron beams in China for scientific research. The power of the accelerator beam will be upgraded from the current 160 kW to 500 kW.

A thorough understanding of the mechanism of the space charge effect is of great importance for the CSNS Phase II project in order to improve the beam quality and beam power, Wang said.

Focusing on international sci-tech frontiers and serving the country's major development demands, the CSNS has supported research in the fields of energy, physics, materials and engineering, in the form of studies in categories such as aerospace components, lithium-ion batteries, solar cells, rare earth magnetism, high-temperature superconductivity, functional thin films, high-strength alloys and single particle effects on chips. ■