The J-PARC Project Original Research Article

Construction of the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC), which is nearing the final stage, has been carried out under the cooperation of two institutions, KEK and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). We began the beam commissioning of the proton injector in the fall of 2006, and succeeded in accelerating the beam up to the design energy of 181 MeV in January, 2007. Construction of the Hadron Experimental Hall will be completed in June, 2007, and the beam line equipment will be installed. Proposals for nuclear and particle physics experiments at J-PARC were considered by the Program Advisory Committee, and several experiments have been approved. Here, I introduce some of the interesting experimental programs.