The Spin Physics Detector collaboration proposes to install a universal detector in the second interaction point of the NICA collider under construction (JINR, Dubna) to study the spin structure of the proton and deuteron and other spin-related phenomena using a unique possibility to operate with polarized proton and deuteron beams at a collision energy up to 27 GeV and a luminosity up to 10^32 cm^-2 s^-1. As the main goal, the experiment aims to provide access to the gluon TMD PDFs in the proton and deuteron, as well as the gluon transversity distribution and tensor PDFs in the deuteron, via the measurement of specific single and double spin asymmetries using different complementary probes such as charmonia, open charm, and prompt photon production processes. Other polarized and unpolarized physics is possible, especially at the first stage of NICA operation with reduced luminosity and collision energy of the proton and ion beams. This document is dedicated exclusively to technical issues of the SPD setup construction.

The NICA facility is under active realization at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR, Dubna). Its main goal includes experimental studies of hot and dense baryon rich matter forming in heavy ion collisions to search for possible manifestations of phase transitions and critical phenomena, as well as investigation of nucleon spin structure with polarized proton and deuteron beams. The NICA general design, construction status, and prospects for physics program are presented.

Background Photosensitizers (PS) are commonly used in photodynamic therapy to treat skin cancer. PS molecules bind to cell membrane and damage it by singlet oxygen (SO) generated under illumination. In our laboratory, we study in vitro the processes involved in photodynamic therapy on a model bilayer lipid membranes (BLM) by measuring the boundary potential applying the Intramembrane Field Compensation Method (Sokolov and Kuz’min, Biofizika, 25:170, 1980). Methods This method allowed to monitor the binding of PS on BLM and damage of target molecules (TM) of SO - di-4-ANEPPS under excitation of PS by light. In present investigation, we studied the adsorption and photodynamic efficiency of new positively charged porphyrins, namely b-imidazolyl substituted porphyrin and it’s Zn(II) and In(III) complexes; and two phosphorus (V) complexes of meso-(p-pyridyl)-triphenylporphyrin bearing hydroxyl and ethoxyl axial ligands. We observed a linear dependence of the boundary potential change on the logarithm of concentrations of each PS. Results The photodynamic efficiency of these porphyrins was assessed by determining the rate of oxidation (R) of TM adsorbed either on the same or opposite surface of the BLM where molecules PS were present. The values R for both positions of TM were close indicating that BLM is highly permeable to singlet oxygen. The values R were proportional to surface density of the porphyrin molecules in the membrane. Conclusions This investigation indicate that the main factor influencing the photodynamic efficiency of the porphyrins is their adsorption on the BLM. The work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project 19-04-00694) and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation in the framework of Increase Competitiveness Program of NUST «MISiS» (№ К4-2017-053). Legal entity responsible for the study National University of Science and Technology. Funding NUST-MISiS, Russian Science Foundation, Russian Academy of Sciences. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

The method of Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy (PAS) has been under development and application since 2013 at the Low Energy Particle Toroidal Accumulator (LEPTA) facility in the Dzhelepov Laboratory of Nuclear Problems of JINR. The PAS at the LEPTA is based on the slow positron injector of original design that provides a positron flux of a high monochromaticity. The FWHM of positron energy at the exit of the positron source is of 1.5-3 eV. The positron energy on the target can be varied in the range 50 eV-36 keV (90 keV in the nearest future) with an accuracy of not less than 1%. The first version of a special channel for transportation of the positrons from the source to the target was constructed in 2013. Presently the research is carried out applying the method of the Doppler Broadening of Annihilation Line. In 2018 the channel was developed for application of Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy. It will be equipped with instrumentation according to original scheme presented in this article. This article describes three versions of PAS, their peculiarities and specific scheme as well as the parameters of the experimental equipment for PAS used and developed at LEPTA.

The use of RF buckets for ion storage in the NICA is discussed. After storage, the RF2 system bunches the beam at the 22nd harmonic. Under cooling and an adiabatic increase in the RF2 voltage, a bunch shortens to the point when it fits into the separatrix of the 66th harmonic. The bunch is then recaptured into the separatrix of the 66th harmonic of the RF3 system. Ion bunches with the needed experimental parameters are formed under further cooling and an adiabatic increase in the RF3 voltage. Parasitic collisions occur at the interaction point in the process of ion storage and bunching.

The Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility (NICA) is under construction in JINR. The NICA goals are providing of colliding beams for studies of hot and dense strongly interacting baryonic matter and spin physics. The accelerator facility of collider NICA consists of following elements: acting Alvarez-type linac LU-20 of light ions at energy 5 MeV/u, constructed a new light ion linac at ion energy 7 MeV/u with additional acceleration section for protons at energy 13 MeV, acting heavy ion linac HILAC with RFQ and IH DTL sections at energy 3.2 MeV/u, superconducting booster synchrotron at energy up 600 MeV/u, acting superconducting synchrotron Nuclotron at gold ion energy 4.5 GeV/n and two collider storage rings with two interaction points. The status of acceleration complex NICA is under discussion.

The project NICA (Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility) is aimed to study hot and baryon rich QCD matter in heavy ion collisions in the energy range up to root S-NN = 11GeV. The heavy ion program includes a study of collective phenomena, dilepton, hyperon and hypernuclei production under extreme conditions of highest baryonic density. This program will be performed at a fixed target experiment BM@N and with MPD detector at the NICA collider.

Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility (NICA) is a new accelerator collider complex under construction at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. The facility is aimed at providing collider experiments with heavy ions up to Gold in the center of mass energy from 4 to 11 GeV/u and an average luminosity up to 1 · 1027 cm-2s-1 for Au79+. The collisions of polarized deuterons are also foreseen. The facility includes two injector chains, a new superconducting booster synchrotron, the existing 6-AGeV superconducting synchrotron Nuclotron, and a new superconducting collider consisting of two rings, each 503 m in circumference. The booster synchrotron and the NICA collider are based on an iron-dominated “window frame”-type magnet with a hollow superconductor winding analogous to the Nuclotron magnet. The status of the serial production and test of the magnets for the booster synchrotron and the development of the full-size model magnets for the NICA collider is presented. The test results of magnets are discussed. The status of the construction of the facility for serial tests of superconducting magnets for the NICA project is described.

The start-up version of the NICA/MPD project is determined in accordance with the strategy of its staging. At the initial stage, the elements required for completing the BM@N experiment using an extracted beam and the test of MPD elements at a luminosity no less than 5 × 1025 cm–2 s–1 will be put into operation. The equipment configuration and strategy of the NICA collider operation during its commissioning are presented in this article.

The NICA (Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility) project is under realization at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR, Dubna). The main goal of the project is a study of hot and dense strongly interacting matter in heavy ion collisions (up to Au) in the energy range up to root(NN)-N-s=11 GeV. Two modes of operation are foreseen, collider and extracted beam operations, with two detectors: MPD and BM@N. In the Au + Au collider mode the expected average luminosity is L = 10(27) cm(-2)S(-1). The proposed experimental program allows one to search for possible manifestations of the phase transitions and critical phenomena.

New scientific program is proposed at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna aimed at study of hot and dense baryonic matter in the wide energy range from 2 GeV/amu to √sNN = 11 GeV, and investigation of the nucleon spin structure with the maximum polarized protons and deuterons energy in the c.m. 27 GeV (for protons). To implement this program the development of JINR’s accelerator facility in high energy physics has started. This facility is based on the existing superconducting synchrotron - Nuclotron. The program foresees both experiments at beams extracted from the Nuclotron, and construction of an ion collider - the Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility (NICA).

The Low Energy Positron Toroidal Accumulator (LEPTA) at JINR proposed for generation of positronium in flight can be used for positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) [1]. The positron injector of the LEPTA facility can generate continuous a slow positron beam with the intensity up to 1∙107s-1 at the energy in the range of a few eV to 100 keV and width of the spectrum 1 – 2 eV. The injector is based on radioactive 22Na isotope. The solid neon is used as a moderator to generate monochromatic beam. The parameters of the positron beam allow scanning the condensed matter in depth up to 10 microns with resolutions less than 10 nanometers and investigating layered structures for microelectronics and properties of a surface.

At present time the Low Energy Positron Toroidal Accumulator (LEPTA) at JINR is under commissioning with circulating positron beam. The LEPTA facility is a small positron storage ring equipped with the electron cooling system and positron injector. The maximum positron energy is of 10 keV. The storage ring is aimed for generation of direct fluxes of ortho-positronium (o-Ps), produced in recombination of the positron beam circulating in the ring with single pass cooling electron beam. The project has few goals: annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) to monitoring defects of nanometer sizes in materials as a function of depth managed by the positron energy in a rage of a few eV to 100 keV.

The NICA (Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility) project is now under active realization at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR, Dubna). The main goal of the project is a study of hot and dense strongly interacting matter in heavy ion (up to Au) collisions at the centre-of-mass energies up to 11 GeV per nucleon. Two modes of operation are foreseen, collider mode and extracted beams, with two detectors: MPD and BM@N. The both experiments are in preparation stage. An average luminosity in the collider mode is expected as 10E27 cm-2 s-1 for Au (79+). Extracted beams of various nucleus species with maximum momenta of 13 GeV/c (for protons) will be available. A study of spin physics with extracted and colliding beams of polarized deuterons and protons at the energies up to 27 GeV (for protons) is foreseen with the NICA facility. The proposed program allows one to search for possible signs of phase transitions and critical phenomena as well as to shed light on the problem of the nucleon spin structure.

Scientific program of NICA (Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility) is now under realization phase at JINR (Dubna). The main goal of the program is an experimental study of hot and dense strongly interacting matter in heavy ion collisions at nucleon–nucleon centre-of-mass energies of 4–11 GeV and at average luminosity of 1027 cm−2s−1 for Au (79+) in the collider mode. In parallel, fixed target experiments at the upgraded JINR superconducting synchrotron Nuclotron are carried out with the extracted beams of various nuclei species up to gold with the momenta up to 13 GeV/c for protons. The program also foresees a study of spin physics with extracted and colliding beams of polarized deuterons and protons at the centre-of-mass energies up to 26 GeV for proton collisions. The proposed program allows to search for possible signs of the mixed phase and critical endpoint, and to shed more light on the problem of nucleon spin structure. General design and construction status of the complex is presented.

A heavy-ion collider, i.e., the Nuclotron-based Ion Collider Facility (NICA), is being developed at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia. The aim of this project is to construct a new accelerator complex for conducting experiments with colliding ion beam (at the first stage of the project) and with polarized proton and deuteron beams (at the second stage). The NICA accelerator complex will consist of two linear accelerators, two synchrotrons, two collider rings, and beam transportation lines. The magnetic lattice and diagnostic and correction systems for the NICA beam transportation lines are described in this report.

For the modularized start version of the FAIR project, a scenario was proposed with accumulation of antiprotons in the High Energy Storage Ring (HESR). The accumulation uses pre-cooled antiprotons from the Collector Ring (CR) for longitudinal accumulation by the combination of barrier buckets and stochastic cooling. As a benchmarking of computer simulations and for studies of technical requirements for the components employed in this technique a proof of principle experiment in the ESR was proposed. This benefits from previous investigations in the ESR on accumulation by a combination of barrier buckets and electron cooling [1] and the availability of stochastic cooling as well. Various waveforms for the barrier bucket system are under consideration, fixed barriers, moving barriers and th e use of sinusoidal rf at harmonic h = 1 with injection of the new beam onto the unstable fixed point.

Fast longitudinal beam accumulation has been demonstrated in the ESR at GSI with an Ar beam coming from the synchrotron SIS18 at 400 MeV/u. Continuous application of stochastic cooling in all three phase space directions merged the stack with the newly injected bunch. Longitudinal beam compression was achieved either by using short barrier bucket rf pulses or by successive injections onto the unstable fixed point of the rf bucket at h=1. This recent experiment in the ESR provides the proof of principle for the longitudinal stacking of antiprotons in the FAIR project. It is planned to accumulate pre-cooled antiprotons in the HESR, injected from the CR.

NICA is the new accelerator complex being under design and construction at JINR. The facility is aimed at providing collider experiments with heavy ions up to Uranium in a center of mass energy range from 4 to 11 GeV/u and an average luminosity up to 10 27 cm -2 · s -1 . The collisions of polarized deuterons are also foreseen. The facility includes two injector chains, a new superconducting Booster synchrotron, the existing 6 A · GeV superconducting synchrotron-Nuclotron, and the new superconducting Collider consisting of two rings of about 500 m circumference each. The Booster synchrotron and the NICA Collider are based on an iron-dominated “window frame”- type magnet with a hollow superconductor winding analogous to the Nuclotron magnet. The status of the design and construction of the full size model magnets for the Booster synchrotron as well as for the NICA Collider is presented.