On 1 July, the conference hall of the Laboratory of Theoretical Physics at JINR hosted the opening of the 74th International Conference on Nuclear Physics, “Nucleus-2024: Fundamental problems and applications”. This is the largest annual conference in Russia covering all energy ranges and aspects of modern nuclear physics. Different scientific centres take turns hosting the event each year, with JINR consistently being one of the organizers. This year, the programme committee includes representatives of JINR, Moscow State University, and Saint Petersburg State University.

375 scientists, students, and postgraduates from leading nuclear research centres and universities of Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China, Egypt, India, Kazakhstan, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam gathered in Dubna to discuss the status and development tendencies of nuclear physics. Among the participants are medical physicists, geologists, and representatives of commercial organizations. The working languages are Russian and English.

JINR Vice-Director Latchesar Kostov opened the meeting, wishing the participants fruitful and constructive discussions. He noted the long history of the conference, originally named the “All-Union Meeting on Nuclear Spectroscopy” and first held in 1950. Latchesar Kostov highlighted the rich history and considerable scale of the event. “I am certain that the Nucleus-2024 will honour the legacy of the founders of our conference by maintaining its high standards. During these five days, you will exchange positive experiences and ideas and plan new experiments and research,” JINR Vice-Director concluded.

The first part of the plenary session included key reports on the development of the FLNR Accelerator Complex, new experimental data on the research of isotopes of superheavy elements, and physics of exotic nuclei. The development of experimental facilities and the results obtained on them were discussed by FLNR JINR researchers: Head of the Scientific and Technological Accelerator Department Vasily Semin, Chief Researcher Leonid Grigorenko, and a junior researcher Nikita Kovrizhnykh.

“The conference agenda covers almost the entire range of nuclear physics research: low, intermediate, and high-energy physics,” Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the Laboratory of Theoretical Physics at JINR Nikolay Antonenko commented. The results of high-energy studies, related to the NICA Project and the activities of the Laboratory of High Energy Physics, will be presented by the Laboratory’s researchers and scientists from partner centres.

The Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions will report on theoretical and experimental research in two areas of low-energy physics: the production and research of superheavy nuclei and the study of exotic light nuclei.

BLTP and FLNR at JINR will host parallel sections of the conference devoted to theoretical and experimental studies of nuclear reactions, nuclear structure, collisions of heavy ions at medium and high energies, neutrino physics, astrophysics, and the development of new experimental facilities. A large section will feature applied research, including radiation therapy, the use of nuclear diagnostic methods, etc. The applied part includes reports by physicists working in medical centres, for whom the remote participation was organized. They will discuss application of nuclear physics methods in geology. The meeting of the applied studies section will take place at DLNP.

The extensive poster session will be divided into two parts: 73 poster presentations will be presented in the hall of BLTP on Monday and Wednesday. “The main topic of the conference is cooperation as part of existing projects related to the accelerator complexes of the Laboratories of High Energy Physics and Nuclear Reactions, nuclear studies in the Laboratories of Theoretical Physics and Neutron Physics, and the analysis of VBLHEP and FLNR experiments in the Laboratory of Information Technologies. Thus, representatives of all seven laboratories of the Institute, including the Laboratory of Radiation Biology, are participating in the event,” Nikolay Antonenko noted.

Based on the conference proceedings, scientific articles will be published in several peer-reviewed journals: Nuclear Physics, Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences: Physics, Moscow University Bulletin, and International Journals of Modern Physics E.