J-PARC (Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex) The Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) consists of a series of world-class proton accelerators and the experimental facilities that make use of the high-intensity proton beams. Open to users from around the globe. J-PARC is a multi-purpose and multidisciplinary facility that is unique in the variety of secondary-particle beams produced and put to use in cutting-edge research across a wide range of scientific fields. Neutron, pion, kaon and neutrino beams are all produced at J-PARC via collisions between the proton beams and target materials (spallation reactions). The applications of these beams include fundamental nuclear and particle physics, materials and life science, and nuclear technology.
It is the intensity of the secondary-particle beams that makes J-PARC special. Responding to the ever-increasing demands of modern experiments, the high-intensity makes possible the impossible and unlocks the door to new and exciting research endeavors.
In normal operation mode, over 90% of the protons accelerated in the RCS are directed to the muon and neutron production targets in the Materials and Life Science Experimental Facility (MLF). The remaining protons are transported to the MR for further acceleration before being extracted via one of two MR extraction ports. The slow extraction (SX) port directs the high-energy protons to the Hadron Experimental Facility where a variety of nuclear physics experiments are carried out using K-mesons. Protons from the fast extraction (FX) port are guided by superconducting magnetic array towards the pion production target. Neutrinos generated in pion decay processes are sent as part of the T2K experiment to the Super-Kamiokande facility 300 km west of Tokai in Gifu Prefecture.