China’s High Intensity Heavy-ion Accelerator Facility (HIAF) in Huizhou has officially begun trial operations following its technical acceptance this week. The facility, developed by the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, recently set new intensity records for oxygen and bismuth ion beams, positioning itself as a major tool for studying rare, short-lived nuclear matter.
Technical Capabilities and Operational Goals
The HIAF facility, located in the southern province of Guangdong, represents a specialized advancement in heavy-ion physics. Unlike the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, which utilizes a 27-kilometer ring to collide protons and lead ions at extreme energies, HIAF focuses on generating high-intensity beams of various nuclei. According to details from the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the facility operates with a two-kilometer beamline located 13 meters underground.
The system is the world’s first to integrate a superconducting linear accelerator with a rapidly cycling synchrotron. This architecture allows the facility to accelerate ions ranging from hydrogen to uranium. By maintaining a vacuum pressure of 10⁻¹² mbar—a level comparable to the lunar environment—the system minimizes interference, allowing researchers to study unstable atom nuclei that rarely occur in nature or decay almost instantly.
Record-Breaking Performance in Initial Tests
During testing, the HIAF achieved performance metrics that surpassed existing benchmarks. The facility reached an intensity of 250 billion particles per pulse for oxygen ions, with a maximum energy of 4.25 billion electron volts. For bismuth ions, the accelerator recorded 32 billion particles per pulse.
These figures represent a significant leap in beam intensity. MSN noted that the oxygen ion performance specifically eclipsed a more than ten-year-old record previously held by the GSI in Darmstadt, which had reached 100 billion particles per pulse. The high particle count is essential for observing rare reactions, as it increases the statistical likelihood of capturing data on nuclei that exist for only a fraction of a second.
Engineering Precision and Future Research
The facility’s ability to generate these beams relies on advanced power supply systems capable of shifting currents by several thousand amperes within 100 milliseconds. This rapid cycling allows magnetic fields to fluctuate at rates up to 12 Tesla per second. HIAF chief engineer Yang Jiancheng described high intensity as the critical benchmark for the next generation of ion accelerators, noting that the development of the necessary infrastructure spanned more than 10 years.
- Mapping the existence and stability of various atom nuclei.
- Simulating astrophysical nuclear reactions, such as processes occurring within stars or during cosmic explosions.
- Testing materials under extreme radiation conditions.
- Performing high-precision mass measurements of isotopes, such as the recent study of Gold-202, which researchers reported as being twice as precise as the previous record.
Project Timeline and Development
The HIAF project was initiated in December 2018 and spans approximately 32 hectares in Huizhou. While the facility recently passed its technical acceptance, the path to operations included extensive calibration. According to reporting from Watson, initial comprehensive beam tests were completed in October 2025, setting the stage for the current trial phase. With six dedicated measurement stations—including a storage ring for precise mass analysis and a separator for reaction products—the facility is now prepared to transition into full-scale scientific investigation.
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