Recalling of the histories and success experiences of Chinese large science projects, speeding up the realization of high energy physics large project in China

Abstract

In January 2018, the China Reform and Development Committee (led by President Jinping Xi) had the meeting, and passed the plan of “Chinese Initiated International Large Scientific Plan and Large Scientific Project”. In March 2018, it was released by Chinese government. The 14th five years plan will start in 2021 and it is very important to have a historical review of China’s large science projects in order to help in future large science projects’ planning and implementation, such as Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC), as Higgs factory proposed in September 2012 by Chinese scientists after the Higgs boson was discovered on July 4, 2012 at CERN on Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In November 2018, the Conceptual Design Report (CDR) of CEPC was released formally and Technical Design Report (TDR) phase started in 2019. It is planned that CEPC TDR will be completed at the end of 2022 and CEPC will be proved by Chinese government during 14th five year plan and completed around 2030. As China’s first large science project, Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC), which was completed in October 1988, its success and experiences are very precious and useful for the realization of CEPC. In 1993, the year of 20th anniversary of Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Professor Jialin Xie, Academician of CAS and the first director of BEPC, has written an article recalling the planning, design, R&D and construction of BEPC. In this article, Jialin Xie recalled firstly the Beijing Proton Synchrotron (BPS), so called “87 Project”, in late 1970’s, which was a 50 GeV synchrotron, and Jialin Xie was the project leader of BPS. During BPS planning and R&D, many trips were to Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and CERN. At the end of 1970’s, due to Chinese economy situation, BPS was suspended. During a collaboration meeting initiated by Professor T. D. Lee of Columbia University and Nobel Prize winner in 1957, between China and USA held at FNAL in March 1981, Professor Wolfgan K. H. Panofsky from SLAC proposed to Chinese delegation a 2.2 GeV electron positron collider instead of proton synchrotron as BPS. After careful discussions among scientists and the following evaluations from CAS, it was finally decided that China will build Beijing Electron Positron Collider, so called BEPC. BEPC was started in 1984 and completed in October 1988. In the article of Jialin Xie, he recalled many detailed difficulties in design, R&D and construction phases, and many supports from international collaboration with US scientists and government under China-US scientific collaboration agreement. This article revealed many decision making process, design philosophy, technology choice and R&D issues, team training, project management in time and cost controls, etc. He also recalled the doubts and objection voices towards BEPC. BEPC has not only laid a solid ground but also accumulated many precious experiences for the high energy physics and many other large science projects which follow in China. By recalling, keeping and carrying forwards these precious experiences and pioneering spirits, it is believed that CEPC as a successor of BEPC, will be realized successfully in the future. In addition to high energy physics project CEPC, other two long term key directions are exploration to Manned Mars Project and Chinese Fussion Experimental Test Reactor (CFETRE), and three of them should be the strategic parallel Chinese large science and technology projects in the future.