The Nuclotron-based Ion Collider Facility Project. The Physics Programme for the Multi-Purpose Detector

Abstract

The Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility (NICA) is a new accelerator complex under construction at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), Dubna, Russia. The main goal of the planned facility is to provide accelerated particle beams for a wide range of experimental studies of the hot and dense strongly interacting QCD matter generated during collisions. The NICA project in its entirety allows for a fixed target experimental site, as well as two interaction points. The heavy ion programme includes two planned detectors: Baryonic Matter at Nuclotron (BM@N) - a fixed target experiment with extracted Nuclotron beams; and a collider-mode experiment at one of the interaction points - the MultiPurpose Detector (MPD). For the NICA collider, the accelerated beams by design will consist of particles ranging from protons and light nuclei to fully stripped gold ions. Beam energies will span with luminosity Lpp ≥ 1 × 1030 cm−2s−1, and , and average luminosity LAuAu = 1 × 1027 cm−2s−1. The second interaction point is planned to be occupied by a third experiment - Spin Physics Detector (SPD), which will focus on the investigation of nucleon spin structure and polarization phenomena through the use of polarized proton and deuteron beams. A brief overview of the Multi-Purpose Detector is presented along with the major sub-detector systems. The MPD research programme will focus on multiple observables including collective flow, particle multiplicity and spectra. Special attention will be given to strangeness production and vector mesons, event-by-event fluctuations and hadron femtoscopy measurements. Several feasibility studies are referenced.