In early November, scientists of MEPhI G.A. Nigmatkulov, A.V. Taranenko and E.V. Khizhnyak (staff and students of the Departments № 7 and 67) have taken part in the creation of the detector, designed to restore the plane of response of the EPD (Event Plane Detector) that will be used in the STAR experiment at the relativistic heavy ion collider (RHIC). It is located at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (USA).

The main objective of research at the STAR experiment is creation and study of properties of matter in extreme conditions: at high energies and/or densities. One of the important parameters characterizing the collision of nuclei is a plane of response. In 2018 a new detector – EPD (Event Plane Detector) – will be launched to improve the accuracy of its measurement. This detector is an important part of the Beam Energy Scan phase-II, which will take place in 2019-2020.

At Lehigh University (USA) the staff of MEPhI participated in the selection of fibers and their assembly into fiber optic cables. Using the 3D printer they created elements connecting cables with electronics. An important task was the micron-accurate polishing of fabers. Such precision is necessary to ensure effective signal transmission from the detector to the electronics. During the trip, Associate Professor of the Department №67 Arkadiy Taranenko held a scientific seminar on the theme: “Measuring collective flows in the experiments at the RHIC collider”, attended not only by scientists from Lehigh University, but also Penn State and Rutgers universities.