Today, about 300 modules of the electromagnetic calorimeter for the MPD Detector at NICA have been delivered to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research from China. The current delivery was the last in a series of three. In total, 800 modules were produced in China.

An electromagnetic calorimeter, or ECAL, is a tool for measuring the energy of electrons, positrons, and photons. The MPD Detector at NICA requires 2,400 ECAL modules in total. Having experience in this field, Chinese colleagues from five leading centres of Tsinghua University joined the ECAL production for MPD NICA. Specialists in Russia, the country of JINR location, designed another 800 modules. The Tensor equipment plant in Dubna and 2 enterprises in Moscow and Protvino produced them. It is expected that cooperation with Chinese organizations in the field of ECAL production will continue, and Chinese specialists will make 400 more modules. Experts in Moscow and Protvino will produce the same number of them. They have already started the process.

“Such a large-scale production of ECAL modules required the involvement of a wide range of scientists and specialists from China. Today’s event shows that we can focus joint efforts on the development of large-scale projects for the benefit of science. Such mutually beneficial cooperation will contribute to our friendship and the unity of scientists,” Vladimir Kekelidze, JINR Vice-Director, Leader of the NICA Project, commented on the event.

In addition to the production of modules of calorimeter, Chinese specialists significantly contribute to their installation and adjustment. “At VBLHEP, young Chinese scientists are working with us. They come to Dubna to perform a wide range of work. It is a great opportunity for young scientists to learn how to work at a real facility,” a leading researcher of the VBLHEP Sector of Elementary Particle Identification Igor Tyapkin highlighted. At present, a young specialist of Tsinghua University is involved in the work on ECAL for MPD at the Laboratory of High Energy Physics.

Tsinghua University has been involved in the NICA Project for about ten years. Its specialists are not only jointly working on electromagnetic calorimeter for MPD, but they are also creating the time-of-flight SPD Detector. Another Chinese centre, the China Institute of Atomic Energy, is interested in cooperation on the SPD Project in the field of the development of Micromegas detectors. The creation of microelectronics for the NICA Project is an important area of cooperation with China. About 20 Chinese organizations are already involved in work within the framework of the megascience project. China and JINR will continue developing their cooperation thanks to the recently signed intergovernmental Protocol on Strengthening Cooperation in the Field of Basic Scientific Research. The document was signed during the visit of President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping to Russia.