The Accelerator Laboratory provides foundation to scientific research at KEK

Particle accelerators are the basis of all research activities carried out at High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK). KEK would even lose the reason for its existence, if it did not have particle accelerators. The Accelerator Laboratory (ACCL) operates all accelerators at KEK, and develops the performance of the beam, which provides the basis of all corporative experiment on elementary particles and nuclear physics and also material and life sciences, etc., for researchers in Japan and the world. It is also endeavoring to research and develop future accelerators and related technologies.

At Tsukuba Campus, ACCL has started the operation of SuperKEKB B-Factory (electron-positron colliding rings with an injector linac) toward higher-performance beam by upgrading KEKB B-Factory, which gave experimental verification to Kobayashi-Maskawa theory to win 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics. It also operates two rings at Photon Factory (PF and PF-AR), which is a pioneer of synchrotron light sources in the world as well as Slow Positron Facility. Also it performs R&D for the KEK hybrid ring as one of the candidates for future light source. In addition, developments for the International Linear Collider (ILC) have been done at experimental accelerators ATF and STF. R&D for the application of superconducting cavities is also being conducted in the Compact Energy Recovery Linac (cERL).

At Tokai Campus, ACCL has already started the operation of J-PARC for user’s experiments together with JAEA, and is paying a lot of efforts to improve beam performance with conquering various issues accompanied by a high intensity proton beam.

ACCL has conducted collaboration research with various accelerator laboratories and researchers in the world, including the United States (Fermilab, SLAC, Cornell Univ., JLab, etc.), Asia (IHEP-Beijing, Shanghai, Pohan, Taiwan, BINP, RRCAT etc.) and Europe (CERN, DESY, INFN, CEA, STFC etc.). Furthermore, collaborating with companies or other organizations, ACCL promotes R&D of accelerators for medical application and industrial application.