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Achievements and prospects of the BM@N Project

On 13–15 May 2025, the 14th Collaboration Meeting of the BM@N (Baryonic Matter at Nuclotron) Project took place at the Laboratory of High Energy Physics at JINR. The key topics were the progress and development prospects of the experiment conducted as part of the NICA Megascience Project. The hybrid event brought together more than 135 participants from JINR and 13 leading scientific organizations and universities of Bulgaria, Israel, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan.

At the opening of the event, JINR Vice-Director Vladimir Kekelidze noted that BM@N had achieved significant success over the seven years of its existence. Articles by the collaboration are published in prestigious scientific journals such as Nuclear Instruments and Methods, and the number of its participants is gradually growing. “BM@N is at the forefront of the NICA Project, leading in data collection and analysis. I hope that in the near future you will be able to obtain many interesting results and contribute to global science,” he noted in his speech.

VBLHEP JINR Chief Researcher, Collaboration Spokesperson Richard Lednicky highlighted that the collaboration counts more than two hundred participants from five countries. In 2024, scientists and specialists engaged in the project received two JINR awards. BM@N participants presented a large number of papers. Among the latest is a publication (arXiv:2504.02759) sent to the Journal of High Energy Physics, dedicated to the formation of protons, deuterons, and tritons in argon-nuclear interactions at 3.2 GeV. Experimental results and data analysis are regularly presented at leading nuclear physics conferences. Last year, one candidate’s thesis was defended as part of the project.

According to Richard Lednickэ, the BM@N Collaboration analyses data on proton and deuteron femtoscopy, studies data on the generation of light hyperons and mesons, directed proton and deuteron fluxes in the interactions of xenon and caesium iodide. The next physics xenon beam run is scheduled for 2025. In preparation for the bismuth beam run, the scientists plan to further develop the central tracker and put a 2-coordinate (X/Y) high-granularity neutron detector into operation to measure neutron yields and collective fluxes.

The presentation by the Experiment’s Project Manager, Deputy Head of the Scientific and Experimental Department of the Multipurpose Detector at VBLHEP at JINR Semyon Piyadin was devoted to the progress of work at the BM@N Detector. He presented the actual configurations and positions of the detectors located in the SP-41 Magnet. Semyon Piyadin spoke about the installation of silicon detectors, detectors based on gas electron multipliers and cathode strip chambers and highlighted the modernisation of ToF-400 (time-of-flight) detectors. According to the speaker, now that the detector systems are fully installed, the team plans to simultaneously launch each facility system after all necessary technical tests.

Experimental data analysis of and details of the preparation of the detector, trigger, and other facility systems were presented at the meeting. On 13 May, a meeting of the BM@N Institutional Board took place. On the final day, issues of software development, automation of data collection, storage, and processing, and the introduction of machine learning for experimental data processing were discussed.

The next, 15th BM@N Collaboration Meeting will take place in Dubna in October-November 2025.

JINR Press Office