The NICA Megascience Project at the Laboratory of High Energy Physics at JINR reached another important milestone. The superconducting magnet of the Multi-Purpose Detector successfully reached its design field parameters. Following this accomplishment, work can proceed to the next step – preparations for installing the MPD subsystems inside the magnet aperture.
At 19:20 Moscow time, on 26 February 2026, stationary 3D Hall sensors located on the inner surface of the cryostat solenoid registered a magnetic field with the design value of 0.57 Tesla. All the systems functioned in the nominal regime: the temperature remained stable, and no current fluctuations were observed. The stability of the operating parameters confirmed the reliability of the MPD magnetic system and the quality of the engineering decisions taken.
Achieving this result was the result of the intense work of the engineers, who had to take responsibility for the commissioning of the magnet’s key element – the superconducting solenoid. VBLHEP JINR Deputy Chief Engineer Konstantin Mukhin emphasised the fact that the success was made possible by the professionalism and persistence of the Institute’s specialists.
“It was a long complicated process. We had to take on significant responsibility for perfecting and launching the superconducting solenoid after the ASG Superconductors company paused their work on the project”, Konstantin Mukhin noted. “Step by step, the team completed the assigned task, developing new equipment and refining the operational algorithms for the unique experimental facility”.
The immediate plans involve detailed field mapping in March by JINR specialists together with colleagues from the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics (Novosibirsk, Russia). The successful completion of this stage will allow installing the power frame in April and start mounting the internal detector systems of the MPD (TPC, TOF, ECAL, etc.) inside the magnet aperture.
Background information
The magnet of the Multi-Purpose Detector consists of a massive iron magnet yoke, a superconducting solenoid in a cryostat, and additional correcting coils on the ends that close the magnetic field. Its length is about 9 metres, and its diameter is about 7 metres. Worldwide, only a few magnets of a comparable scale and purpose are in operation at megascience facilities.
The MPD Experiment aims to study superdense nuclear matter in the region of maximum baryonic densities achievable in the NICA energy range. Its main goal is to identify key markers of the QCD phase structure when the facility operates in the collider (√sNN 4–11 GeV) and fixed-target (√sNN 2.4–3.5 GeV) modes. Modelling these states will provide experimental data important for understanding the internal structure of neutron stars and complementing modern astrophysical observations.
